In 2006 Barnstead Selectman Jack O’Neil proclaimed support for a rights-based ordinance protecting Barnstead’s water resources, stating “we pledge to walk point for you.” It’s doubtful that at the time he imagined New Hampshire residents would today be walking point for the nation in the struggle for community rights and the rights of nature.
Since then, towns across New Hampshire have been initiating and passing rights-based ordinances in the face of corporate assaults on local economies, rights and natural environments.
In a time when state and federal lawmakers fail to act on pressing social, environmental and economic issues and corporate entities are rushing to enact legislation pre-empting communities from addressing these, it is more important than ever to seize the opportunity to affirm the rights of people to self-govern in their communities.
N.H. Rep. Ellen Read has reintroduced the Community Rights Amendment, CACR 8, an amendment that codifies the rights of people in New Hampshire to make governing decisions about policies and endeavors that affect the well-being of residents and the natural environment.
Those involved in the early work of local democracy are grateful for the efforts of many residents, but especially those of longtime Barnstead Selectman Gordon Preston, Katherine Preston, the late Jack O’Neil, and the late Gail Darrell, founder of N.H. Community Rights Network and tireless advocate for a sustainable, peaceful world. The many people who carry on this work across New Hampshire ask for your support of CACR 8.
DIANE St. GERMAIN
Barnstead
(The writer is a board member of the N.H. Community Rights Network.)