Last week I had a chat with Keene’s city clerks Patti Little, Bill Dow, and the assistant city attorney about their challenge to my voter’s registration. The episode, some highlights of which you can see in the Ridley Report below, turned into a perfect example of how even if you think you know what their rules say, it’s only their interpretation that matters.
I filed for my candidacy for mayor as Ian “Nobody” Bernard. That’s my slave name with a nickname of “Nobody” added to the middle. The publicly announced purpose of this campaign was to give voters the first opportunity ever to actually choose Nobody, rather than the lesser of two evils. (As I would not take the oath of office or attend council meetings.) Clearly, the establishment did not appreciate this and immediately set to disqualifying me from the ballot. They decided on attacking my voter registration, which hadn’t seemed to be a problem before. (more…)
City Council has little effect on state laws, but the Municipal Services, Facilities and Infrastructure Committee voted to recommend that the City Council draft resolutions related to marijuana use for submission to State offices in Concord.
Wednesday evening, the Municipal Services, Facilities and Infrastructure Committee of the Keene City Council voted 4-1 to recommend the full council support medical marijuana legalization AND 3-2 to recommend the support of decriminalization of personal amounts of marijuana. The most vocal detractor, Mr. Greenwald, made it clear that he was voting “no” because he didn’t feel the issue to be something the City Council should be handling, and not because he disagreed with the idea. The committee acted on this due to the pushing from a seemingly unlikely source. Former KPD detective Fred Parsells submitted the letter at the bottom of this post to the Mayor and City Council, as well as spoke to the committee.
In favor of the resolution for medical marijuana: Arnold Bailey, Pamela Slack, Charles Redfern, and Ruth Venezia. Bailey opposed the decrim resolution.
If adopted, this decision still has no legal effect, but means that the City Council will draft a resolution and submit to Concord in support of these marijuana freedoms. The full council will be voting on these issues at the next meeting, September 17, 2009.
An incumbent city councilor was recently asked by an individual representing a particular point of view if said councilor would be willing to propose language to the full council which would, in so many words, direct the Keene Police Department to make enforcement of minimal marijuana possession laws its lowest enforcement priority. Even if it had the mind to do so, I do not believe that the council has the legal right to dictate such a policy. That said, the idea did prompt the councilor and me to engage in conversation regarding medical marijuana and the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal consumption.
Thanks to the Keene Sentinel’s Phil Bantz for his follow up article covering the Keene Police dropping charges against Cassidy Nicosia. Thanks also to Jay Dugay of KPD for admitting his officers were wrong. It’s rare to see that level of integrity in police departments these days. Here’s the story:
Charge dropped against teenager
Free Stater went topless in city
By PHILLIP BANTZ
Sentinel Staff
Cassidy Nicosia, 18, of Manchester no longer faces a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure and lewdness.
Nicosia was arrested Aug. 23 after police received complaint calls about a topless teenager standing near the Main-Marlboro-Winchester streets roundabout with a handgun holstered on her hip.
State law does not require residents to have permits to openly carry guns, and she was not charged with any firearm-related crimes.
Last week, police prosecutors D. Chris McLaughlin and Eliezer Rivera decided to drop the charge of indecent exposure and lewdness against Nicosia. The charge was dropped because walking down the street topless does not qualify as a crime under state law, Keene police Lt. Jay U. Duguay said.
The law states that a person commits indecent exposure and lewdness if he or she fornicates, exposes genitals or performs any other “act of gross lewdness … likely to cause affront or alarm” in public.
Events, especially arrests, related to movers and FreeKeene participants are often busy times, and therefore, stories that are started don’t always get completed here on the blog. The following is a roundup of some of the recent activity, and how it concluded or what stage it is at.
Jesse’s arrest and trial for gardening – Jesse was found guilty, but was recently told by the court that “It is too expensive” to go after him, and they are closing the fine against him.
The Disorderly 6’s arrest and trials –
Richard O: Charges Dropped
Nick R: Still awaiting verdict over 30 days after trial
Patrick S: Guilty of resisting arrest – Sentence suspended
Tim D: Charges Dropped
Kurt H: Awaiting trial
David K: Guilty of disorderly conduct with a $250 fine — “paid” with 6 days in jail
Kurt Hoffman and his various spouts with police – Kurt is free on a $1000 cash bond. He’s awaiting trial on counts of assaulting a police officer (for rolling up his window while an officer was trying to reach in the car), disobeying a police officer (for not giving up his registration), unsafe driving (for driving with a dog on his lap), and others I believe.
Sam’s Camera trials –
Day 1 of his trial is online, and day 2 is being worked on in the next week. His trial has completed without a ruling yet, as Judge Burke reviews more motions.
Did I miss anything you’ve been wondering about? Let me know and I’ll try to bring the update.
Word just came in through Porc 411 that Cassidy Nicosia’s “Indecent Exposure” charge has been dropped by KPD’s prosecutor, Eli Rivera. Does this mean the KPD is liable for false arrest, kidnapping, or official oppression? I don’t know, but I forgive them for what they’ve done and would encourage them to leave peaceful people alone in the future. Thankfully, now Cassidy doesn’t need to be concerned about being deemed a “sex offender” for acting as free as her male counterparts.
Some liberty ladies had scheduled another topless event in advance of Cassidy’s arraignment, so will that event occur or be rescheduled? I’ll let you know.
Also, here was the Ridley Report’s coverage of the topless outreach event arrest, which did not get pulled from Youtube as our original footage did:
The Granite State Gang
New Hampshire transplants live free — or die trying
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 26, 2009
Big bucks couldn’t buy the viral awe and ire that the Free State Project (FSP) scored on August 11, when New Hampshire resident William Kostric arrived outside President Barack Obama’s Portsmouth Town Hall meeting with a handgun on his right thigh — “open carrying” is quite legal in the Granite State — and a sign declaring IT IS TIME TO WATER THE TREE OF LIBERTY! Kostric, an Arizona transplant who lives in Manchester, has now become a hero in the FSP movement, which, since 2004, has attracted 523 activists to the “Live Free or Die” state in search of “a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property.”
Free Staters — a loose amalgamation of Libertarian offspring who resent drug laws, speed limits, bureaucrats, and taxes — welcome both good and bad publicity. To them, there is little difference between the flattering July 25 Associated Press piece on the group’s annual Porcupine Freedom Festival and Kostric’s legal but arguably distasteful demonstration of his First and Second Amendment rights. Those developments spurred surges in interest; FSP President Varrin Swearingen, of Keene, says (more…)
Last week I had a chat with Keene’s city clerks Patti Little, Bill Dow, and the assistant city attorney about their challenge to my voter’s registration. The episode, some highlights of which you can see in the Ridley Report below, turned into a perfect example of how even if you think you know what their rules say, it’s only their interpretation that matters.
The publicly announced purpose of this campaign was to give voters the first opportunity ever to actually choose Nobody, rather than the lesser of two evils. (As I would not take the oath of office or attend council meetings.) Clearly, the establishment did not appreciate this and immediately set to disqualifying me from the ballot. They decided on attacking my voter registration, which hadn’t seemed to be a problem before. (more…)
Thanks to the Keene Sentinel’s Phil Bantz for his 
