We have had time to mull over the November 7 Municipal elections and have started our in-depth analysis. While early in the process, we were surprised by several items. Maybe you were too. Here they are in no specific order of importance.
- The top nine vote getters captured around the same number of votes in 2023 as they did in 2021.
True that the number of ballots cast dropped slightly – 5,745 compared to 6,099, – but given all of the momentum the current council had going into the election, the McEachern Nine as a group appears to have topped out.
2. Four of the top five received fewer votes in 2023 than in 2021.
Deaglan McEachern again captured the number one spot, but with fewer votes. Joanna Kelly, John Tabor, and Josh Denton also reported a drop in their vote count.
3. Outside groups played a more important role in the Portsmouth election.
While the nationwide Political Action Committee (PAC) Run For Something again endorsed Jo Kelley, a new statewide PAC, 603 Forward, endorsed McEachern, Kelley, Denton and Cook.
While McEachern and Kelly have received PAC support in the past such as from the NH Young Democrats, Cook’s name has not been tied to outside groups. With this new PAC support, Cook’s showing improved by almost 1,000 votes – 3,288 in 2023 compared to 2,316 in 2021.
Of note is that in 2022, 603 Forward filed a lawsuit against newly enacted SB418. SB418 was designed to prevent same-day voter fraud. This law created “affidavit ballots” for unregistered voters who could not produce a valid ID and proof of residency at the polls on Election Day and gave them 7 days to document their eligibility.
On November 3, 2023, the Hillsborough South Superior Court granted the state’s Motion to Dismiss. At this time, it is unknown if any affidavit ballots were created.
4. The press went out of its way to cast a negative light on one group of candidates.
Having the legacy news organizations put their thumb on the scale for certain individuals is a fact of life in Portsmouth. It was particularly apparent during the 2023 election.
Every article published in the Portsmouth Herald named all of the candidates and added a special descriptive for certain 2019 Councilors: “Candidates challenging the incumbents include five former councilors who were defeated in the 2021 election: former mayor Rick Becksted, Petra Huda, Esther Kennedy, Paige Trace and Peter Whelan.” Just in case you forgot.
5. The Firefighters Union was a prominent presence at polling places supporting the current council.
This seemed surprising since we are unaware of anything other than support from all candidates for the recently approved contract. What was the purpose of having the firefighters (hopefully off-duty) at the polls?
One explanation for the McEachern Nine’s topping out in spite of extraordinary in-kind support may be voters’ apprehension.
The implications of the loss of the McIntyre property to a private developer and the continuing lawsuit with Redgate Kane have yet to be made public. Pannaway Manor residents have been held at bay but what’s next?
And the new property tax bills following historic back-to-back budget increases haven’t been mailed.
Maybe these unknowns put a lid on what should have been a greater win for the McEachern Nine.
Source Featured Image: cronkitenews.azpbs.org
