Doug and Tom vs the Belknap County Convention
The Town of Gilford - the Selectmen, the Administrators, the Budget Committee, et al, strive very hard to not only live up to the letter of the Right To Know laws but also the spirit too! Folks here in Gilford should be giving them all "attaboys" and "attagirls" for admitting errors when they happen and "do-overs" to make things right.
Not so with the Belknap County Convention over "held in secret" brouhaha over appointing Craig Wiggin to the vacant Office of the Sheriff. They circled the wagons, hunkered down and lawyered up and maintained that they were hiring an employee.
Due to the efforts of Tom Tardif and Doug Lambert, they have doggedly tried to protect OUR right to know how those that govern us have arrived at their decisions.
Heck, even the NH Supreme Court sided with them and slapped the expensive lawyer around during oral arguments (frankly, I felt sorry for him as I watched the proceeding here - he had nothing to work with and Tom did a masterful job, for a non-lawyer, in arguing his case).
This is one of those cases in life where what seems to be the issue is not. The surface level "stuff" obscures what really is at stake. This is not just "procedural nitpicking" - it is sufficiently important and precedent setting that three additional judicil cases have been argued (and won) with the use of citing this case.
We here in Gilford are outside the seat's district, but if you are a Laconia citizen reading this, consider voting for Tom for Belknap County Commissioner.
