It's All Gail Morrison's Fault

Former N.H. Rep. Gail Morrison (D-Tilton) has much to answer for in having helped to create a rift between the Laconia School District and octogenarian Ward 4 City Councilperson Brenda Baer.

Baer, you will note, has raised the horrible specter of the “school board” taking control of Laconia’s City Council, a move she alleges that if successful, would spell doom for all of the residents of Laconia and threaten her beloved tax cap.
In a recent letter to the editor that was published in both the Laconia Daily Sun and the Laconia Citizen, Baer explained her conspiracy theory:

The School Board, while saying nothing publicly, has decided to get hold of things by taking over the City Council. They have recruited Mike Seymour, former chair of the School Board, to run for mayor, and Mayor Matt Lahey, the school's biggest booster, stepped down to run for council in his ward so he could have a vote. Now, Marge Kerns, longtime leader of the School Board, has declared for yet another seat at the council table. Once they get in, you will never balance the budget and the school's spending will continue to skyrocket and you will have a new high school whether you can afford it or not. Otherwise, why are they running? What is their agenda?

Now, having personally known for years all of the current school board members with the exception of Ward 5’s Stacie Sirois, I can say with complete confidence that the school board does not, either in an official or an unofficial capacity, plot the takeover of city government. If I believed for a moment they were so capable, I’d encourage the board to employ those talents where they’d have the most effect – in Concord.

You might ask what any of this has to do with former Rep. Morrison, so I’ll tell you. Brenda Baer was actually regarded as a friend of education until that pushy Gail Morrison tried to get the state legislature to require seniors between the ages of 70 and 75 to be subjected to a driver’s examine every two years, and annually once beyond the age of 75.

Baer was livid, defending herself and her fellow senior drivers, and accusing Morrison and the Democratic Party of waging war on seniors. As the issue heated up, Baer decided she was not only against requiring the driver’s examines, but that she opposed SCHIP (which was taking money out of Medicare) and the schools (which diverted too much money needed by the elderly to a bunch of snot-nosed kids.)

I’m not so sure Baer’s strategy of targeting education is going to be a winning issue in her Ward, where United Way Executive Director Jack Terrill has filed a challenge to Baer’s incumbency. Let’s hope Terrill’s common sense, community awareness, and decency prevail.