By Buck Fuller
This seems like a straight-forward question with an obvious answer. Why bother asking this? Because there are interesting issues at stake.
Part I discussed who won. Part II explores one of the political Action committees (PACs) active in helping those who won achieve their goals.
603 Forward, the New PAC on the Block
So, who is 603 Forward? 603 Forward “educates, engages, and activates working-age adults to drive pro-next-generation policy change and support like-minded leaders in their pursuit of public office.”
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) minutiae say they are a 501 (c)4, which means they can be politically active. Their affiliate, The Forward Foundation, is New Hampshire-based and is a 501 (c)3, which means it can and does accept tax-deductible gifts from around the country to fund its activities.
From The Forward Foundation website, we quote: “As a small, independent, nonpartisan organization with deep ties to New Hampshire, The Forward Foundation was organized to increase the participation of working-age people in New Hampshire in democracy by expanding their knowledge, supporting their leadership growth, and researching and developing public policy that will encourage such participation.”
This all sounds pretty safe, doesn’t it?
Since The Forward Foundation was only recently established, it has yet to file a Form 990 with the IRS. Additionally, only donations of $5000 or above would be shown in detail on Form 990.
At this point, we don’t know all of the actual funding sources for 603 Forward and The Forward Foundation…
…but we can make some educated guesses.
On October 13, 2023, the two organizations held a fundraiser in Manchester. In addition to a general admission fee, there were corporate sponsors such as the Currier Museum of Art listed as a Partner.
Other sponsors included:
- ActBlue, a nationwide Political Action Committee and fund-raising platform that serves left leaning and Democratic nonprofits and politicians,
- Goodwin Family Management, an organization that manages Eric Goodwin’s assets and provides administrative support services for a collection of operating companies including the restaurant chain The Friendly Toast as well as Donut Love.
- Preti Strategies, a Boston-Concord-Portland-based consulting firm that specializes in government relations, public affairs and communications.
- Run For Something, the nationwide PAC that supported Joanna Kelley in 2021 and 2023, and
- Do it Left Project, a collaborative of NH marketing professionals that assists Democratic candidates run winning campaigns.
Independent?
The same staff, separate boards (almost)
The two organizations have separate boards with the exception of Elizabeth Wester, a Democratic party operative who is a co-founder and Secretary of 603 Forward and the Board Chair for The Forward Foundation. Our own Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley sits on the board of the Forward Foundation.
The Forward Foundation has nine employees. Even though they share eight of these staff members with 603 Forward, this appears to be a very large amount of administrative overhead for a “small” nonprofit. Alarm bells should be going off for its donors.
Nonpartisan?
Except the results of the political arm of The Foundation seems to be anything but “nonpartisan” and safe.
We would call them radical.
Our reading of their material suggests they seek a fundamental change in how local governments operate. Progressivism looks to centralized government making decisions for the populace in how our lives are ordered and conducted. This means an aggregation of power that in New Hampshire has traditionally resided with “the people,” not the government.
They seek government support for affordable housing and public education while advocating for keeping taxes on income and property. These may all seem attractive, but they come at the expense of higher taxes on homeowners, older people and retirees. Maybe that’s the point.
New Hampshire is the second “oldest” state in the country from a demographic perspective. Progressive programs depend on other people’s money.
They can be successful if no one is paying attention.
PACs 603 Forward and Run for Something Also Endorsed Candidates for School Board Seats
As we noted before, 603 Forward was also active in promoting like-minded progressive candidates for school board seats state-wide and in Portsmouth. 603 Forward and Run for Something have both focused on getting radical progressives elected to local school boards in New Hampshire. Watch what policies and programs these individuals may promote.
603 Forward Lawsuit Against New Hampshire
603 Forward along with Open Democracy Action brought a lawsuit against the state of New Hampshire in 2022 to block the enactment of state law SB418. Open Democracy Action is a 501 (c) 4 chaired by Bob Perry, a former Democratic State Representative from Strafford 3. His organization asks for donations to keep the influence of “Big Money” out of politics.
SB418 sought to tighten and protect the state’s limits on same-day voter registration. In its legal action against the state, 603 Forward sought to prevent the strengthening of the state’s limits on same-day voter registration.
Under SB418, if a voter shows up without proper voter identification, the election officials can give that voter a so-called “affidavit ballot”, or a provisional ballot. Such a ballot would be held for 7 days, uncounted, until the voter provides the necessary paperwork to prove legal identification and residency.
The old law allowed these questionable ballots to be counted anyway, without addressing the voter identification shortfall unless the election officials made the unlikely choice to take legal action against the ineligible voter.
Do we know if Portsmouth officials adopted the new SB418 guidelines rather than follow the old ways?
Good question. The Court dismissed 603 Forward’s challenge only a few days ahead of Election Day. The City would have had to instruct its voter officials to adopt the SB418 guidelines within only a couple of days. It makes one suspicious.
Why Make Our Voting System Less Secure?
More importantly, as a taxpayer and voter in Portsmouth, you wonder what greater purposes 603 Forward and The Forward Foundation serve.
It seems suspect to us that 603 Forward would be involved in trying to make our voting system less secure, challenging the integrity of our voting laws. 603 Forward fought against the improvement. Don’t we all lose if 603 Forward had won?
It makes you wonder what the 603 Forward’s goals are now that its people are ensconced in our City Council?
Now that We Know More about One of the PACs Which Won …
In Part III, we will review who lost on Election Day. Again, this is not as simple as it might seem. Stay tuned.
Source Featured Image: HRBlock.com
