The Soapbox - Manchester Ink Link

The Soapbox: FY 27 budget debate – elections have consequences

Friday, May 29, 2026

The debate over the fiscal year 2027 budget in Manchester drags on, with no apparent end in sight. At the last Aldermanic meeting the regular crew of anti-Manchester residents came out. It was the usual suspects who spoke, those who believe Manchester should not spend one more red cent on anything. They are not interested in fixing our roads, fully funding contracts for police or fire or keeping the West Side library open. Additionally, their disdain for public education is quite evident, not wanting the Manchester School District to be adequately funded. In essence it’s okay with them if Manchester reverts back to 1985.

The Soapbox: When public comment becomes public harm

Monday, May 25, 2026

While I’ve felt nervous and had sweaty palms before using my three minutes at a BMA meeting, I never felt like I was in danger of violence or even witnessing violence while in the chambers at City Hall.

The Soapbox: The real war on local control in New Hampshire

Monday, May 25, 2026Monday, May 25, 2026

For years, New Hampshire conservatives and libertarians have wrapped themselves in the language of “local control.” They warn against government overreach, defend the authority of local communities, and condemn top-down mandates from Washington.

The Soapbox: New Hampshire needs to have an adult conversation about taxes

Monday, May 18, 2026

If we continue at the same pace we are at, right now, the state will run out of money and our property taxes will only increase. That is a given. We are here because of years and years of fiscal mismanagement from extremists in Concord who have long ruled under the belief that all taxation is theft.

The Soapbox: Manchester’s budget disaster is a crisis of our own making

Monday, May 11, 2026Monday, May 11, 2026

For the past two years, under the leadership of Mayor Ruais and the previous Board of Aldermen, our annual city budgets came farther under the tax cap than any budget before them. Those moves were celebrated at the time. Unfortunately, the chickens have come home to roost.

The Soapbox: The state failed us once. It cannot fail YDC survivors again

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

I was a child in the custody of the state of New Hampshire when the abuse began. The people who were paid to protect me did the opposite, and for decades the state looked the other way. I carried that alone for years. No acknowledgement, no accountability, and no voice.

The Soapbox: Balancing Concord’s budget on Manchester’s back

Monday, May 4, 2026

Two recent disclosures—one from the New Hampshire Office of the Legislative Budget Assistant and another from the office of Kelly A. Ayotte—give us an answer that should concern every taxpayer in this city.

The Soapbox: When leaders break the rules, New Hampshire pays the price

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

At the State House, where I serve, we debate budgets, oversight, and fiscal responsibility every day. We review reports, question spending, and argue over priorities because taxpayer dollars demand accountability. But those conversations depend on a shared premise: that rules matter, and that they apply equally.

The Soapbox: Manchester taxpayers should be worried – the State’s finances are heading in the wrong direction

Monday, April 13, 2026

If you live in Manchester, you’re already feeling the pressure—higher property taxes, strained schools, and growing demands on local services.

Curing the affordability crisis requires reining in corporate price-gouging, not just cost-shifting

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Since President Trump signed his signature tax cut law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), last year, the impact of changes to health care under the new law has contributed to a growing chorus of lawmakers calling for increased affordability.

The Soapbox: On gas prices, Pappas acts while Sununu sides with ‘big oil’

Friday, March 27, 2026Thursday, March 26, 2026

Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans promised to bring down the cost of gas.
They lied.

The Soapbox: Auburn residents stand up for their rights

Sunday, March 15, 2026

99% of individuals kidnapped or detained by ICE who are detained are status offenders, not violent criminals. The methods in which this partnership was secured and the scope of work Auburn’s Police Department are committing to are not clear.

The Soapbox: When war reaches Manchester

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Members of the New Hampshire National Guard, including men and women who live and work in Manchester, could now find themselves deployed into a conflict whose purpose and duration remain uncertain. These are our neighbors. They coach youth sports, attend our churches, and work in our hospitals, construction sites, and small businesses.

The Soapbox: Making the R-Slur Cool Again

Monday, February 16, 2026

In early January 2025 a business leader was quoted anonymously celebrating the ability to use “retarded” again in polite company thanks to Donald Trump’s return to power. At the time, I had a bad feeling, this was a harbinger of things to come.

The Soapbox: Closing the post-storm parking loophole

Thursday, February 5, 2026

At the February 3, 2026 meeting of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen, I spoke during the public comment portion to raise a practical issue related to snow removal and winter parking enforcement that many residents experience every winter, and to provide the Board with draft ordinance language for its consideration.

The Soapbox: Ballroom boondoggle

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Trump wants a ballroom citing national security and a simple argument: ballrooms are protected play spaces. The ballroom resembles a fenced sandbox. A $400,000 sandbox, but a sandbox, nonetheless. Guests can safely play. Trump exiled respectable reporters from the White House, so he’ll get positive coverage of his ballroom playdates. Is it necessary?

The Soapbox: NAACP’s mission includes ensuring equality of all; segregated schools of any sort have never done that

Thursday, January 22, 2026Wednesday, January 21, 2026

With this in mind, we invite the state representatives who made what many believe are discriminatory statements to a meeting to discuss their motivations and intent with their comments and how they align, or not, with the ideals for which this nation was founded and how they serve, or not, to eliminate the inequities that exist in our society.

The Soapbox: Support NH HB 1831 to correct ‘deeply inequitable’ policy targeting Manchester schools

Monday, January 19, 2026

Manchester is New Hampshire’s largest school district and serves many of the State’s most disadvantaged, and most vulnerable children. HB 1831 removes the cap on the State’s education aid – a cap that applies ONLY to Manchester. Under current law, this cap will strip at least $10 million annually in anticipated and fully warranted funding from our district beginning next year.

The Soapbox: On MLK Day, New Hampshire must defend the role of public schools in our democracy

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Republican leadership in New Hampshire, including the Governor, must decide whether it is appropriate for someone who has expressed support for segregating students for any reason to be the leading voice on education in the State House. That is not a rhetorical question. It goes to the heart of what public education is meant to be.

The Soapbox: New Hampshire is normalizing the unthinkable

Monday, January 19, 2026Sunday, January 18, 2026

A year into Donald Trump’s second term, friends who live outside the United States still reach out in disbelief. Is it really that bad? Are you safe? I usually answer with a shrug. Not because things are fine — but because, like so many Americans, I’ve learned how quickly the unacceptable becomes routine.

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