Josh “Nit Zero” Denton, or NZ for short, was re-elected to the City Council in 2021 after being side lined in 2019. It’s tough to say why. NZ blames a “well-funded political machine” – like what happened in 2021? It takes one to know one.
But maybe folks were just tired of his nonstop harping on plastic bags, composting and the net zero plan that “could take years to accomplish and a substantial financial investment from the city,” i.e., you, the taxpayer. It also would take away your car unless you had an extra $60K to buy a Tesla.
Just out of curiosity, do you know how many Portsmouth households share his net zero zealotry? We do.
107
According to a recent Community Power update, there were 11,827 residents and businesses that enrolled, only 107 chose the “Clean 100” Plan (100% renewables), which means THEY WILL VOLUNTARILY BE PAYING 40% MORE FOR THEIR ELECTRICITY!
But I digress.
Like his fellow Councilor, Andrew Burgundy Bagley , it’s clear that the like-minded editors at Seacoast Online can’t get enough of this guy. There are more articles about/from him than just about anyone else – including Hizzoner!
Did You Know That He Was in the Army?
We will be the first to thank NZ for his service – thank you! We have deep gratitude for all those who have answered the call of duty. This goes double for those sent to dangerous places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
That said, NZ has been known to throw stones at whoever dares to have a different opinion. In fact, he has been darned uncivil to members of the previous City Council who he accused of incivility!
This gives us the green light to highlight a few of his noteworthy traits as an elected official here in Portsmouth.
Fun Fact: He’s A Really Rockin’ Guy
Here he is wearing one of his favorite outfits: a Cobra Kai Halloween Dance Skeleton spandex onesie.
Not So Fun Fact: He is the self-appointed Mr. Bossy Pants who: Listens to the Science
Not a student of the scientific method and critical thinking but Listening to THE SCIENCE.
He was particularly peeved at non-mask-wearers, even outside, and accused previous city councilors of complete “disregard for the health of all residents and staff alike,” by refusing to wear masks during the City Council meetings.
His favorite question: Do you think that the city should impose any new measures or mandates related to the Covid-19 Pandemic?
His response, “ I SURE DO!”
Another Not So Fun Fact: This is What He Really Wants to Say to You
Listen up all of you Portsmouth reprobates: time to get rid of your gas guzzling cars, start composting everything, turn off your air conditioner (unless your electricity is from 100% renewables) and don’t ever, ever use those dreadful single-use plastic bags.
You all should live the way that I do: in a 500 square foot apartment with your dogs!
If I have my way, Portsmouth will be a net-zero community by the day-after-tomorrow, none of those smelly emissions clogging up the environment. So, what if you must walk everywhere.”
Josh Denton
Now some have referred to him as tone deaf and out of touch.
To confess: we think he is a bit of a nitwit, but we’ll settle for “nit zero.”
See: synonym for nit
Final Fun Fact:
His bicycle is his main transportation except when DPW workers are summoned to pull his car out of a snowbank.
If you hear a knock on your door, don’t open it!
Between now and early November, you’re likely to see a tattooed figure on a bike zipping around Portsmouth.
Resist the temptation to let NZ in – you’ll get an earful!
But here’s a question: Just how did Nit Zero get elected to the City Council in the first place?
Action Behind the Scenes: A Little Cash Always Helps
After an unsuccessful run for the City Council in 2013, NZ was able to cobble together enough votes to place 9th in the 2015 election. This was quite a feat considering that he had been snubbed by disgraced former Mayor, Steve Marchand and his 2015 One Portsmouth slate.
According to NHPR:
Three days before the filing deadline in September, Marchand sent an email to what he calls a “small group of friends,” asking them as “a personal favor,” to consider a run for city council.
His campaign theme: civility
Marchand said that he wanted candidates who were “not on the extremes” or “fundamentally angry”, he wanted councilors with an appetite for change and were proponents of “smart growth,” i.e., fit comfortably in the developers’ pockets.
NZ was irked and pointed out that for all Marchand’s talk of civility, One Portsmouth is making things worse:
“Whoever gets elected from these lists is going to be more partisan, and there’s going to be less collaboration.”
Well, fast forward to 2021: Lists are now Cool!
The campaign theme also was “civility.”
This time, the ringleader behind a large slate of “progressive” candidates (those self-appointed know-it-alls) was another political operative who claimed that the funding source for his effort was his late mother, may she rest in peace.
With their coffers full of his mother’s cash, and the wave of a magic wand from the aforementioned Steve Marchand (see: Marchand Found Guilty of Campaign Dirty Tricks, and Outstanding Questions ) the Progress Portsmouth slate easily cruised to victory!
So now that he is a City Councilor, how’s he promoting civility?
This guy’s no Atticus Finch – and he is fragile.
Mr. NZ is a law school graduate, but we could find scant evidence of him practicing law – with one odd exception detailed in at least five Seacoast Online articles. (As a point of reference, Seacoast Online did exactly one article on the runup to the approval of the 2024 city budget.)
In the summer of 2019, NZ requested and received a temporary restraining order against a local woman whom he claimed, threatened to hit him with her car after she swerved to miss him the previous day.
A verbal encounter between the two occurred at the city’s Farmer’s Market. A second encounter occurred during a break in a City Council meeting.
Of course, there are always two sides to every story. And…
The woman, who shall we say, was on the opposite side of NZ’s political views, claimed she was kidding and didn’t think that he was so “fragile.”
Most *normal* people would have chuckled and suggested they get together at Popovers and talk it over.
Not NZ. This traumatic experience left him with a “similar fear” for his personal safety that he felt when he was serving in Iraq.
Then he pulled a full “Karen” and called the police. A guard was posted at subsequent City Council meetings.
NZ hired an attorney “to assist him through the legal process,” (he must have skipped that class) but actually questioned the defendant during the hearing. (How in the heck does that work?)
The judge turned down his request for a permanent restraining order and the Police Prosecutor dropped the “threatening” charge against her. But that only happened after making her wait and worry for 2 years. How unbelievably petty!
NZ defended his silly action by stating: “You don’t shout fire in a crowded theater.” Huh?
Ahem, as a lawyer, you should know that Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes quote reads: “falsely” shout fire in a theater.
Your constituent may have had a valid point about your cockamamie ideas that also are bad for many Portsmouth residents.
How did Nit Zero vote on important issues?
2024 Belt Busting Budget
City spending is out of control with accelerating head count and bloated salaries in white collar positions City Expense Growth on Steroids
NZ admits that he isn’t a budget person, no kidding, but he voted for it anyway, just like he did last year to add 27 new positions.
So what if your property taxes go up? He is a renter.
The McIntyre Project
“Our House is on Fire, We’re on the Verge of War with Iran!”
So proclaimed NZ at a January 2020 City Council meeting, while he also was lamenting (blaming someone else for) his 2019 City Council election loss.
What does this have to do with the potential acquisition and development of the Thomas J. McIntyre Federal Building? Nothing. It’s just NZ’s way of being dramatic and of minimizing a really important issue for many residents — potentially the largest capital spending project since the sewer treatment plant.
He wasn’t always disinterested.
In 2016 he was on the Council that decided to let a private entity develop the property; eight developers expressed interest. In 2017, four out of eight developers presented their feasibility concepts to the Council. His favorite was a no-show.
In 2018, he cast one of eight votes (former Mayor Becksted was the sole “no” vote) that agreed to acquire the McIntyre property through the Historic Monument program and chose Redgate Kane as the development partner.
We know how that worked out – lawsuits filed (isn’t there a big one going on right now?), taxpayer dollars wasted.
Of note, the 2018 decision included the requirement for the post office to vacate the premises, so it moved 4 miles out of town. Some residents were so up in arms about this inconvenience that they put up posters listing the naughty eight councilors. NZ was incensed and took some of the posters down!
“Our house is on fire we have kids in cages on our southern border!”
Another dramatic performance this April. “I can’t relate to the passion over McIntyre”, he protested. In essence he’s saying you figure it out!
NZ, it’s time to wake up, focus on Portsmouth. You’re not in Washington D.C. and fingers crossed, you will never get there.
(January 8, 2020; April 17, 2023, City Council Meetings)
