Nashua Election Results 2021: Police Question Soundly Defeated

Nashua NH

02 November, 2021

10:36 PM

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NASHUA, NH — A proposal to remove the selection process for Nashua's police commission membership from the governor's hands to the mayor's hand has been soundly defeated by almost a two-to-one margin, according to unofficial election results. Question 2, which also would have expanded the board to five members from three and had aldermen approve of the new choices, too, received 4,931 Yes votes with No votes coming in at 8,950. Sandy Cleary, the business leader who headed up the Vote No on Question 2 effort, said the voters spoke "clearly and unequivocally" — and sent a clear message to Mayor Jim Donchess. "Nashua Aldermen rejected the same proposal, yet the mayor literally went door to door to sell this idea and led a rushed effort to force this question to the November ballot before the issue could be properly vetted," she said. "Any suggestion to change oversight and control of the police commission should be studied thoroughly before any new effort is launched to send this question to the voters." Cleary said the Nashua Police Department was independently managed, fully accredited, well-trained, and had the full support of this community. "No good reason has been offered to allow Mayor Donchess to seize control over this board," Cleary added. "It would make sense to turn focus to other more pressing issues facing our city." ALSO READ: Nashua NH Election Results: Tight Races Citywide Another question put before voters was a proposal to allow a sports betting retail location in the city. Two years ago, the proposal was rejected by about 65 votes. This year, voters overwhelmingly approved the proposal by nearly 1,200 votes, 7,387 to 6,207. Did you like this story? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch! Alderman Races In the alderman races, Shoshanna Kelly, an incumbent at large member, was easily reelected. Melbourne Moran Jr. and Gloria Timmons, the president of the Nashua NAACP, who came under fire for attacking a parents group last year for wanting in-person learning, has placed third. Four other candidates — Paula Johnson, Donald Whalen, Laura Colquhoun, and Kirstin Wilson, trailed far behind. In Ward 1, incumbent Jan Schmidt, who is also a Democratic state representative, was defeated by Tyler Gouveia, a Republican and the former public information officer for the New Hampshire Department of Education, 1,136 to 1,087. Ward 2 Alderman Richard Dowd easily bested challenger Donald Scott, 786 to 647. Patricia Klee, the incumbent from Ward 3, also easily won reelection, 934 to 756, against Daniel Richardson, a Republican challenger. In Ward 4, incumbent Thomas Lopez bested challenger Peter Lajoie, 355, to 239. Another incumbent, Ernest Jette, also fended off a challenge by Charles Lothrop, 1,015 to 793. Ward 6 will have a new alderman: Alexander Comeau won the race against Jordan Thompson, 535 to 472. Incumbent Elizabeth Lu, who withdrew from the race last month and threw her support to Comeau, received 83 votes. Ward 7 also has a new alderman: Jonathan Cathey won the open seat, besting Raymond Guarino, a school board member, 582 to 532. Another ward with a new alderman was Ward 8 where Derek Thibeault beat Patrick Parks, 805 to 663. Another incumbent was also unseated in Ward 9: John Sullivan easily beat incumbent Linda Harriott-Gathright, 996 to 755. Board Of Education Races Voters have returned one incumbent to its school board as well as some new members. Neil Claffey topped the ticket with 6,454 votes. President Heather Raymond, an incumbent, came in second with 5,704 votes. Christina Darling and Regan Lamphier, two newcomers, also won seats, with 4,909 and 4,871 respectively. Seven other candidates trailed behind the bottom two winners by about 6.5 percent or more: Lynn L'Heureaux, Allison Dyer, Alicia Houston, Kristie Hart, Robert Johnson, Romery Torres, and Caitlyn Fahey-Pearl. Fire Commission Races In the fire commission races, Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja and John Steere easily won the two four-year term seats against Anthony Patti III, who placed third, around 1,500 votes down. In the two-year term race, Gary Lambert beat Sherry Dutzy, by about 2,000 votes. Candidate Profiles Caitlyn Fahey-Pearl, Nashua Board Of Education Candidate Charles Lothrop, Nashua Ward 5 Alderman Candidate John Sullivan, Nashua Ward 9 Alderman Candidate Laurie Ortolano, Nashua Board Of Public Works Candidate Tracy Pappas, Nashua Board Of Public Works Candidate Melbourne Moran Jr., Nashua Alderman At-Large Candidate Neil Claffey, Nashua Board Of Education Candidate Paul Shea, Nashua Board Of Public Works Candidate Sherry Dutzy, Nashua Fire Commission Candidate Robert Johnson, Nashua Board Of Education Candidate June Lemen, Nashua Board of Public Works Candidate John Cathey, Nashua Ward 7 Alderman Candidate Kristie Hart, Nashua Board Of Education Candidate Heather Raymond, Nashua Board Of Education Candidate Alicia Houston, Nashua Board Of Education Candidate Patrick Christian 'Chris' Parks, Nashua Ward 8 Alderman Candidate Daniel Richardson, Nashua Ward 3 Alderman Candidate Derek Thibeault, Nashua Ward 8 Alderman Candidate Peter Lajoie, Nashua Ward 4 Alderman Candidate Regan Lamphier, Nashua Board Of Education Candidate Alex Comeau, Nashua Ward 6 Alderman Candidate Laura Colquhoun, Nashua Alderman At-Large Candidate Jan Schmidt, Nashua Ward 1 Alderman Candidate 2021 Nashua NH Patch Election Coverage Election Day In Nashua NH: Where, When To Vote; Who's Running Nashua To Consider Sports Betting Retail Location Question Again Nashua Municipal Election Filings Are Underway Dozens Call For Nashua Police Commission Study Committee Nashua To Resolve Failures In English Language Learner Education Nashua School Board Member Under Fire For Attacking Parents Group Nashua Parent Voice To March On City Hall Tuesday Other Stuff Alderman Say Vote No On Question 2: Video Chief Carignan Letter To Community Requesting No Vote, More Conversation Got a news tip? Send it to [email protected]. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the New Hampshire Patch Politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.