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NASHUA, N.H. – The second-largest city in the first-in-the-nation primary state is throwing shade at President Trump. At least three senior members don’t like the policies coming out of the White House, and they’re speaking up.
As an elected official, Nashua Alderman-at-Large Ben Clemons says he will use his City Hall platform following every aldermanic meeting to express his opinions and support for concerned constituents. He says unsettling developments are emerging from the Trump Administration, and he will not remain silent, especially regarding immigration.
“The president cannot immediately order someone to leave,” Clemons stated. “The president can recommend who should and should not be here, but every person has the right to have a hearing to go before a judge… Suppose you were on the street and ICE decided to target you because you had a certain tattoo. What if they took you in, and you were a citizen of the United States? Next thing, you’re on a plane to El Salvador.”
Clemons told the audience that individuals need to stand up, and although he believes violent criminals shouldn’t be in our country, the proper steps must be adhered to regardless of an individual’s immigration status. Due process falls under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. “It’s a tenet of our democracy. It’s what separates us and makes us the greatest country in the world.”
Alderwoman-at-Large Shoshanna Kelly says she’s always hesitant bringing up national politics at the city level but believes Nashua could be seeing potentially drastic changes based on the cuts being made in Washington, D.C. Kelly has served on the Board of Alderman’s Budget Committee for seven years now.
“It’s very hard for me to wrap my head around thinking about so many things being cut like cancer research, HIV research, Medicaid is being considered, Social Security… We’re not even doing lead abatement (paint hazards) right now because we’re afraid we won’t get that money, $7 million, because of what’s happening in D.C., and it’s chaos,” Kelly explained.
Kelly emphasizes that a budget is a values document and asks what Nashua’s priorities are. “If they cut transit, which is 80% federally funded, do we, as a city, hold that as a value from an equity standpoint… like helping people get to their medical appointments? Do we want to fund that, and how’s it going to look?”
Kelly expects an extremely tough budget season ahead in determining how aldermen steward for the Gate City.
Alderwoman-at-Large Gloria Timmons has concerns about the Trump Administration’s impact on human rights. Timmons has served as president of the Greater Nashua Area NAACP and as a member of the Board of Education. She presently serves on the Culture Connections Committee, which was established “to facilitate communication between the ethnic community and City government.”
Timmons says the BIPOC community (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) is wondering if they’ll have an organization next year to represent them in Nashua. “This affects my community, and even the segregation issue came up… People are worried that coming to these meetings may put a target on their heads.
“Born and raised here, parents born and raised here, their parents born and raised here. That’s over 300 years of slavery. I’ve been here for a long time, through the Slave Act, and who knows, now they could say, and you’ve got to go, too. I’m not an immigrant. I was here through forced migration. That’s how I got here… I’m not going anywhere.”
