Welcome to our second annual shooting fundraiser.
Category: Our blog
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The Tool the Committee Should Be Using Before March
To my fellow members of the Sullivan County GOP.
We put real effort into knocking doors and turning out votes, and far less into the thing that quietly decides most local races before anyone knocks a door: who controls the information. A tool now sitting on every laptop can change that, and we should build it into our work between now and the March elections.
Start with Claremont. The school district opened the year with a deficit it could not measure for weeks, finally confirmed at $5.01 million. To keep the doors open, the board borrowed $4 million against state aid that had not yet arrived, cash fell below $200,000 against a budget near $39 million, thirty-nine positions were cut, and the superintendent resigned. Every one of those facts came from documents the district was already required to publish under the Right-to-Know law. The information was never hidden. It was simply unreadable.
That is the whole game, and it is not unique to Claremont. Gaetano Mosca said it plainly a century ago: an organized minority always beats a disorganized majority, and the minority’s advantage is coordination, not virtue. The few win by controlling the agenda, the expertise, and the flow of information. For most of our lifetimes that advantage was permanent, because reading a four-hundred-page packet or a three-hour meeting recording was a full-time job no volunteer could take on.
Artificial intelligence changes the arithmetic. A model grounded in the district’s own records, required to attach the exact source quote to every figure and to leave a blank rather than guess, will turn a budget PDF into a clean worksheet in minutes and flag the odd lines for you.
Here is one of them, from the district’s own General Fund Expenditures Report dated September 30, posted in the October 15 board packet. District-wide electricity: $12,000 budgeted, roughly $140,000 already committed. The report’s own balance column prints it as negative 1,067 percent. I am not alleging a crime, and there may be an explanation. The point is that no resident could have found that line a year ago, and now any of us can, in an evening.
A finding like that is not the end of the work. The board can ignore public comment, and usually does. So we do not aim at the board. We aim past it, at the residents watching on CCTV and online. We clip the strongest minute and put it in front of the voters who decide the March school and municipal seats across our towns. Those low-turnout March elections are the soft point in the entire structure. They are won by whoever shows up organized, and for once we can be that side. The same findings become warrant articles at the deliberative session.
That is what I mean by a counter-elite. Not a slogan, but a working group of liberty-minded residents who can read any budget in the county and turn what they find into clips, candidates, and warrant articles.
When someone answers that the real fix is more state money and tighter oversight from Concord, two facts settle it. Claremont’s per-pupil spending rose about forty-one percent in six years, to $23,288, and the hole opened anyway, so more money did not buy competence. And handing the schools to the state does not remove the organized few. It moves them to an office you cannot reach on a Wednesday night.
Here is the ask. I run a free course that teaches the whole workflow, from the public record to the flagged line to the finished clip. There is no charge. Email me at Kevin.Tyson@gmail.com and I will schedule a session with you. If a dozen of us take it before March, we will stop reacting to the next budget and start writing the warrant articles.
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Meet Tim Broadrick, Claremont’s superintendent on a mission
Sullivan County’s finest may have noticed a lull in coverage on the dumpster fire that is SAU-6. We got tired. Let us get caught up, shall we?
A school board election returned a 2018 player back to revisit the scene of the crime, as Brian Rapp returns for Claremont (S)Cares. Crawford recrosses the River Styx to serve as Chair. More importantly, the first decision has dropped, and the newly constituted school board has hired Tim Broadrick as the new superintendent.
While I admit, my initial reaction to a 2 year contract at the high end of the salary range led to an initial condemnation. I beg you, dear reader to take the high road and withhold judgement.
The hiring process was begun under the previously discredited board, which winnowed the candidate pool down to two. The new board chose Tim over the other candidate.
In the corporate world, CEO’s might be broadly characterized as growth, maintenance, flippers, and fixers. With the previous school board and administration mismanagement and financially reckless incompetence now well established, Claremont is deep into fixer-upper territory.
Lets address the elephant in the room, contract terms. As I mentioned previously, this is a fixer situation. Fixers are paid to make hard decisions and take the blame if things don’t go well. The role leans into scapegoat. Fragile egos need not apply. There is a very limited pool of folks willing to take arrows from every direction while under intense public scrutiny. You have to pay up for this kind of service. As Father Guido Sarducci once said in the 70’s (when Saturday Night live was worth watching), “You pay for your sins, in cash.” Given the choice between two candidates, one a complete neophyte and Tim the Fixer; I believe the new board made the best choice under difficult circumstances. Claremont is paying for its sins, in cash. Pay up.
Secondly, Tim lives in Maine and plans to retire there. He will never live here. In the stagnant pool of Claremont elites, he suffers from “Ain’t from around here” disease. I challenge the assumption that his lack of residence necessarily impairs his judgement. We have had absentee supers, like Tempesta and Pratt, who abundantly had no skin in the game. Does that necessarily imply that Broadrick is cut from the same cloth? Residence did not protect us from Mary Henry… Since the other option did not live here either, I see this as a moot point.
Superintendent Broadrick hopes to establish a consultancy from his residence in Maine. We are his first customer. If he fails here, his credentials going forward into retirement will be seriously impaired. Fixers that can’t fix, don’t get hired. Mechanics are paid on a scale with a difficulty factor included. As Satchel Paige said, “It ain’t braggin’ so much if you can do it.” I believe Tim Broadrick has an exceptional amount of skin in the game, far moreso than all previous tenants, combined. I suggest that a fair chance at this opportunity is what he deserves. I want to see him do it, and then brag about it.
Lastly, I would ask you to draw your own conclusions about the probable intellectual and financial environment that Supt. Broadrick might encourage.
In the last SAU-6 election, an Open Enrollment policy was broadly damned by insiders and Claremont (S)Cares and Hope Damon, where Choice is for pregnant women seeking abortions, not parents looking for Education Options. Yet Supt. Broadrick supports open enrollment and competition in general as motivation to improve education. Candi and Loren oppose competition on principle, Tim supports it on principle. Where do your principles land? In this instance, I think some more school board members need replacement. I find choice and competition appealing and prefer Supt. Broadrick’s position.
Off the Gravel Road, Funding the Future: How New Hampshire Pays for Its Schools Next, I urge you to consider a listen to a podcast.
In this episode of Off the Gravel Road, seventh-grader Aurora sits down with Dr. Tim Broderick(sp), Superintendent of the Barnstead School District, to unpack the complex world of school funding in New Hampshire. From the renovation of Barnstead Elementary to state adequacy aid, federal grants, and the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on education funding—Aurora asks the big questions about how schools are built, staffed, and supported. The conversation also explores open enrollment, what it means for small towns, and how communities like Barnstead balance opportunity with affordability.
A thoughtful and surprisingly fun deep dive into how every dollar shapes the education of every child.
After consideration, after listening to the podcast and reading up on Tim, let us know what you think in the comments.
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Mother’s Day Shooting in Charlestown, film at 11
Melodramatic Saturday Night Live Headline aside, New Hampshire delivered a cold damp drizzle for Mother’s Day, in spite of our best efforts to advertise the weather we prefer. The indoor fire and shelters saw much action, including an extended discussion of hair extensions and where best to acquire them.
Here is a better idea of what the day held for our SCGOP volunteers and host Paul Elie from Old #4 Rod, Gun & Snowmobile Club:
We had some first time shooters come out early, as there was quite a rush at the opening. Not that the slugabed treasurer would know, arriving a full hour late. TskTsk, my personal favorite was the clay pigeons and shotgun shoot. There was no lack of discussion of stance, sighting, and practical suggestions from the peanut gallery. There is an audible feedback from the audience when a pigeon gets well clipped. While most pistol practice was at 50 ft, a few folks took advantage of a lull in the weather to post up at 15 feet for defensive shooting.
The food was quite good, the fire was a steady drying out and warming up attraction, as volunteers and shooters rotated inside to drive off the damp and cold, and then back out again for more action. We had a spirited discussion of the new Claremont Superintendent. Expect a post on nuances related to Supt. Broadrick soon. Optimism required…
By my reckoning, Old #4 might find 3 new members as a result of our Mother’s Day fun (not including additions to family passes). For reference, new membership applications are $60 annual, available online, but preferred in person or at Chairman Jon’s place of business on Washington Street.
Keep in mind; if you liked it in the rain in May, you will love it in August 8 heat with full auto rock and roll. Pencil it in.
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Welcome Dale Girard!
On behalf of the Sullivan County Republican Committee, I want to welcome Representative Dale Girard to the Republican Party. Dale’s decision reflects what many Granite Staters have recognized in recent years, the Republican Party is increasingly the home for common-sense leadership, fiscal responsibility, local control, and policies focused on the everyday concerns of working families.
Throughout his time in Concord, Representative Girard has demonstrated a willingness to think independently and put the interests of his constituents ahead of partisan politics. His decision to formally join the Republican Party reflects both his voting record and his commitment to the values shared by many residents across Sullivan County and New Hampshire.
Republicans across our state continue to build momentum by welcoming individuals who are focused on practical solutions, responsive government, and preserving the New Hampshire way of life. We are excited to have Representative Girard join our party and look forward to working together in the years ahead.
Jon Stone
Chairman SCGOP
