Public Forum

If anyone wishes to contact me privately

here is my email address link.

 

Jim Sullivan

Comments

Please enter the code ↺
* Required fields

  • Silent Genius? (Wednesday, November 12 25 02:19 pm EST)

    Everyone makes fun of petrin for not saying much. but he voted for the corrupt bargain, and hasn't gotten 1/100 th the amount of crap for it that heather whitney got. Seems like the real genius. Bill also voted for it. I kind of like bill's independent spirit, digging into things on his own and calling bs. i hope he leans independent and not align with either of the good ole boy clubs. voting for frank was was not a good sign

  • Reality (Wednesday, November 12 25 01:32 pm EST)

    to be fair to chris, every single candidate ran on a platform of 'blanket statements and buzzwords with no substance'. And they were the same blanket statements and buzzwords for every single candidate! needs vs. wants, lower taxes, more efficient government, transparency, etc.

  • Keith Raymonds Handler (Wednesday, November 12 25 01:25 pm EST)

    Let me get this straight — you said yes to running, then had a committee made up of former councilors and self-described “non-partisan” Democrats create your flyers and signs for you. You haven’t even been sworn in yet, but you’re already offering people a playbook on how to run for council? The next election is over 2 years from now.

    You barely scraped a win, haven’t attended a single training or orientation for boards and commissions, yet now you’re suddenly a pro-level expert on campaigning and governance? And your platform for advice is The Sullivan Report?

    From everything I saw during your campaign, it was all blanket statements and buzzwords with no substance. But now you’re positioning yourself as the voice of experience? Please.

  • Cogswell (Wednesday, November 12 25 12:39 pm EST)

    Other Anon,
    People running who aren't qualified is just part of the process. It's a part we may not like, and the fact that they get so many votes is concerning, but it is what it is. But I prefer it to being left with two completely unappealing choices, which is what often happens in a two party system controlled by the rich and out of touch. We are a democracy. I understand the concern, but I trust the citizens to get it right most of the time if the system isn't rigged against them.

    The guide is a means to allow truly independent people to run for office, which I think is a good thing. Power shouldn't be vested only in those with the money or knowledge to manipulate the system.

  • Pepto Plus (Wednesday, November 12 25 12:37 pm EST)

    Damien Fisher is the only person covering the school stuff for NH Journal. He has a conservative bias. Frank and Heather are in the conservative camp, which is why they get quoted all the time in his articles. (which is why its so insane that howard gave them control) I'm not suggesting Damien is onboard or in cahoots with the heather frank style corruption. But he is very friendly with them and maybe doesn't want to upset the apple cart.

    Say what you want about Jim Sullivan, but he's doing 10 times deeper reporting than Damien. Damien is basically just summarizing meetings and press releases, with a quote from good ol Heather and Frank thrown in for good measure.

  • Pepto please (Wednesday, November 12 25 12:25 pm EST)

    Valley News and NH Journal have been eerily silent about the Frank Sprague coup. I wonder if it is because Sprague is good old friends with the lot of em

  • Another Anon (Wednesday, November 12 25 12:07 pm EST)

    Chris,

    While this is a an admirable effort, I have some reservations. It isn't hard to figure out how to run for city council. If someone can't figure out how to do that without a "running for council for dummies" guide, do you really think they are going to have the skills to be effective? We already have enough candidates that don't understand the basics of what the council can and can't do, and they get a shockingly high % of votes.

  • Cogswell (Wednesday, November 12 25 11:06 am EST)

    Claremont,
    One thing that came up in this last election was that people didn't feel that they could easily get involved to be part of this process. And that is a shame. One of the best things about New Hampshire and the United States generally is our ability to take part in the political process and our history of everyday people working to make a difference.

    In the spirit of trying to improve the average citizens ability to get involved I'm creating a folder and documents on how to:
    1) Run for City Council and get involved in boards and commissions
    2) Create political groups to raise funds and promote candidates
    3) Attend meetings and make your voice heard

    You can find the folder below. If you'd like to help on the document creation please reach out to me and I will add you as an editor. My hope is that people from all political viewpoints can take part in this process and try to make the system as open and transparent as possible.

    https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16I1eSxa-IuJSQCOO-poCA1A2iVAp3XKm?usp=drive_link

  • the problem isnt the teacher (Wednesday, November 12 25 08:48 am EST)

    we need to demand the entire school board be sent packing they helped us into this mess or at the very least failed to warn us

  • Union Schmunion (Wednesday, November 12 25 08:17 am EST)

    The absolute last thing this school board needs is anyone, ANYONE who has any ties to the evil teachers union or any other union. They have been fleecing us for years! They have unheard of benefits in SAU6 (they only pay 5% of their insurance premiums. This was set up back in the day because our salaries were out of whack and we needed something to attract and retain teachers. Those days are GONE. our salaries are competitive, our benefit package is still the most favorable to the teachers in the state. It is time to get back to the negotiation table and bring them back down to earth.

  • Anon (Wednesday, November 12 25 05:21 am EST)

    Don,

    I don’t think anyone’s painting you as a “cartoonish mob boss.” People are expressing concerns that others share. That’s a gift. It’s your chance to understand where they’re coming from and shape your message accordingly.

    People are accusing the present board member of lots of things. And they aren't even bothering to show up to explain anything at all. That's also a gift.

    FWIW, I think Mr. Tyson would also be welcome if he wanted to join in the conversation here or in any of the platforms where Claremont politics are discussed.

  • Eagle Eye (Tuesday, November 11 25 10:07 pm EST)

    At the last meeting, Whitney’s approach to calling votes raised some questions for me. She counted the affirmative votes for Lavalette but tried to not count the opposing ones, and later declined to call a vote for Tyson on the grounds that it wouldn’t pass. That’s not how procedure is supposed to work. She has called a million votes before and she has never done that. I'm going to pay close attention to how votes are handled going forward. I don't know her angel, but I don't trust her as far as I could throw her.

  • Shane (Tuesday, November 11 25 09:05 pm EST)

    I wonder if a public document request for what fire inspections the chief is handling on his own might be in order. Who's the police commish here? I didn't know we had one.

  • Neighbors (Tuesday, November 11 25 06:21 pm EST)

    Pam,

    I heard that the fire chief has even pulled his own inspector off the “good ole boys” cause he’s to hard on them. As a property owner I have multiple occasions with the fire inspector and he is nothing but fair and knowledgeable. The good ole boys know how to work the system and the fire chief will help them out but won’t help others out. Time for politics to get out of Claremont and let the people that we hire do there job regardless of friends or whatever!

  • Pam (Tuesday, November 11 25 05:10 pm EST)

    Some things never seem to change in Claremont. While visiting the City’s Visitor Center recently to obtain a permit, I overheard a conversation about an incident at the Planning Office involving a member of the public and a city official (Inspector). From what was said, it appears the situation escalated to the point where police were called, and one of those involved may have been a sitting Police Commissioner and his partner.

    If that’s accurate, it raises serious questions about conduct, accountability, and whether certain individuals continue to benefit from an “old boys’ network” that undermines fairness in city operations. It’s also concerning to hear that the Fire Chief may now be self drawn into this matter, possibly under pressure to appease others rather than focus on public safety. Circumventing the inspection process.

    Situations like this contribute to the perception that Claremont struggles to retain qualified inspectors and other staff—not because of the work itself, but because of the internal politics surrounding it.

    Leadership should take these issues seriously. Transparency, consistent enforcement, and professional accountability are the only ways to restore public confidence in our departments and boards. It’s time for City Hall to take a closer look and ensure that personal connections never outweigh fairness and professionalism.

    Seems Insider is on to something. Mr. Sullivan you seem to be a sleep at the wheel.

  • Curious Voter (Tuesday, November 11 25 04:07 pm EST)

    Mr. Lavalette, because of the recent screwups we’re in a spot where the pie’s too small to go around. Students, teachers, and taxpayers are all going to have to share the pain, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

    There’s a real concern, given your background, that you’ll lean toward the teachers and the union at the expense of everyone else. That might not be fair, but it’s something you need to address head on. My suggestion is to spend more time responding to that concern and less time talking about the history of Claremont. Wayne McElreavy only gets one vote.

    In response to your comments, give me one example of a teacher who was fired purely for being bad, based on teaching performance or test scores, not for bad behavior or clashing with admin. How long did it take to deal with the middle school teacher grooming a student? There were multiple public incidents while she was still employed. I know Henry and Pratt weren’t in your union, but how those cases played out is typical of what one does see in the union setting. Even when there’s clear evidence of serious misconduct, it takes forever to actually fire someone. In the real world, you’re gone as soon as the problem is found, not after endless due process or a sweetheart severance package.

    The union also pushes for contracts that make it impossible to do a midyear reduction in force. I get it, a teacher can’t easily find another job midyear. OK, but the same should apply the other way around. Teachers can walk out midyear with no consequence. That’s been a big problem this year, and it really screws over the schools.

    Same thing with the Bluff move, all this negotiation about timing, weekends, and process. In the real world, people just work things out with their employer when they’re in a bind. I get how contracts work, but at some point we need to look at how the rest of the world operates.

    That said, I’m pro-teacher. We should have higher expectations, teacher employment should look much more like real world employment, but the pay should match that.

  • Insider (Tuesday, November 11 25 03:39 pm EST)

    I know too much and don’t want to be identified

  • jim_sullivan1@comcast.net (Tuesday, November 11 25 02:02 pm EST)

    i'm not jim. but that is his email address. if there's a juicy scandal you know about, send him over some actionable intel for him to work from. longtime reader of the report

  • Healthofficer@claremontnh.com (Tuesday, November 11 25 01:48 pm EST)

    Jim missing so much of the visitor center planning staff story. Dig deeper. Juicy scandal

  • Hieronymoys Bosch (Tuesday, November 11 25 10:43 am EST)

    Bless you, Mr. Lavallette! We need to rest control of the school board from the true architects of disaster, rig Whitney and PETRIN. Also, Lauren Howard screwed people with his weak caving cravenly way of abstaining.

  • Don Lavalette (Tuesday, November 11 25 10:10 am EST)

    Some clarification for the misinformed. I was elected to be the SREA. We had multiple years without a contract which caused us to hemorrhage good teachers. We worked our ass off to get a 3 year contract that brought substantial raises to our teachers.
    The UNION consists of ~150 teachers (circa 2014 when I retired). When I held meetings we would routinely have somewhere around 60-70 percent turnout. I wish we had that turnout in our school and city elections.
    During my tenure we had multiple scummy teachers lose their jobs. As a parent of kids and a taxpayer why on earth would I want to protect them? Getting rid of terrible teachers is easy, follow the contract and bad teachers will hang themselves.
    I’m not sure what the previous poster means about increasing bureaucracy. The SREA can’t mandate anything except following the contract. No different than buying a car or home. You wouldn’t want the bank to decide one day to violate the contract and jack your rates up unilaterally. The contract is negotiated between two parties.
    I’m saddened that I’m painted as some sort of cartoonish mob boss because I spent a couple of years as President of the SREA. Unlike some of the narcissistic people on the current board I don’t need the school board position to make myself complete, however, I’m going to run for election to the school board because I give a damn about what happens to the kids in this city.
    I look forward to campaigning and answering any questions that one has about me.
    Be well,
    Don

  • can I exchange for a different size (Tuesday, November 11 25 12:34 am EST)

    Tyson’s neck deep in EFA Croydon libertarian stuff. Dont know if he personally wants to wreck public ed but plenty in that crowd legit do. Lavalette ran the teachers union. Schools are a mess because good teachers can make more doing anything else. Instead of fixing that, the union just pushes for more bureaucracy and makes it impossible to fire bad teachers. Just not the guy you want negotiating with the unions for you. Either could’ve surprised and been good, but it was the left’s nightmare vs the right’s. And Frank? Helped drive the bus into the ditch, quits, throws a public tantrum blaming everyone but himself. Then asks for his job back.

  • Size XL hoody (Monday, November 10 25 09:45 pm EST)

    How is Frank the best of the three? He was head of the finance committee and was part of hiring Tempesta too. Christ, if you think he belongs on the board we are screwed.

  • Thomas (Monday, November 10 25 07:01 pm EST)

    Why the city losing so many employees. Where do they go?
    Why do they leave

  • just a reg t-shirt (Monday, November 10 25 01:40 pm EST)

    to be honest, Frank is probably the best of the three, although he is still awful. the backlash is over the process. you think we're corrupt in private? watch us be corrupt right out in the open! everyone who spoke was against it. they said it looked like a backroom deal, then grinned, stuck their middle figure up at the town, and did it anyway.

  • Embroidered t-shirt size M (Monday, November 10 25 12:32 pm EST)

    He was very different from ol hatchet face. I agree, he is very disappointed.

  • Willard's Ghost (Monday, November 10 25 12:24 pm EST)

    I'm sure old Willard is glad to be dead to not have to see what an embarrassment to this town Heather is.

  • Inside job (Monday, November 10 25 11:49 am EST)

    Franks wife got the axe during the layoffs at the same meeting he decided to resign at. She’s back, so is he….

  • Prefer a fleece vest over a t-shirt (Monday, November 10 25 10:05 am EST)

    Frankie back on the board means the old skunks have enough votes to suppress any info coming out. Maybe ol hatchet face will quit and take her cuck with her.

  • Onesie for baby that needs better schools (Monday, November 10 25 04:23 am EST)

    "On the board"- tell us more. what was all of heather's "frank left for truly exceptional reasons". didn't he just want to distance himself from the decisions and point fingers at everyone else. if there is more someone please spill it. who are greg and marc?

  • On the board (Monday, November 10 25 04:11 am EST)

    Leave franky alone
    Greg and Marc don’t need no puppet on the board anymore
    Doing their bidding
    The deadlock was orchestrated to give Frank time to come back
    A back room deal

  • No t-shirt. Getting club logo tattooed to chest (Sunday, November 09 25 10:40 pm EST)

    It makes me sick to see the incredible talent show and the girls’ soccer team’s win, and then realize how little the school board cares about any of it. If it was up to them, we wouldn't have had either.

    They’re all either looking out for themselves or trying to play political games. Has a single person in the community said anything nice about bringing Frank back in that disgusting deal? Have they followed through at all on the transparency they promised?

    On behalf of the students, and the staff, and the teachers, and the parents, and the taxpayers:

    CLAREMONT SCHOOL BOARD GO FUCK YOURSELF

  • Stone for School Board (Sunday, November 09 25 06:14 pm EST)

    Stone should run for School Board. Yes he is #1 city scumbag. On the other hand, his "girlfriends" are too young to be hired by the district, being high school students. So we won't have to worry about him pulling a Frank Sprague and putting them on the payroll.

    But, for the LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLLY, please elect someone new Claremont!

  • Koloski for School Board (Sunday, November 09 25 05:12 pm EST)

    Has anyone thought about electing Koloski to the school board? I hear debts just magically disappear when he's involved.

    Put me down for a Hathaway and Sprague are corrupt t-shirt.

  • Tank tops are an option? (Sunday, November 09 25 10:25 am EST)

    I missed that part about Ol Quitting Frank not wanting to compete. Not surprised, he’s going to his ass handed to him next election. He’s a scumbag.

  • tank top please (Sunday, November 09 25 09:53 am EST)

    surprised heather hasn't sent the car salesman or her sisters over to fight her battles for her yet. then realized its sunday morning. probably hung over.

    Frank is a real piece of work. Favorite part is him saying he wanted to to rejoin, but wasn't willing to participate in a "competitive" process. sounds like his wife also is against getting a job in a "competitive" process.

    We deserve what we get if we reelect these people.

  • Polo shirt size XL preferably (Sunday, November 09 25 09:22 am EST)

    John nailed it. Ol quitting Frank has revealed himself to be a scumbag.

  • Embroidered shirts only. Print will fade before corruption (Sunday, November 09 25 08:48 am EST)

    Remember that frank was accusing everyone else of cronyism on WUC? And now he's back in some slimy deal, and his wife was immune to getting laid off, when everyone else was. Un-fucking-real.

  • John J. O’Connor (Sunday, November 09 25 08:22 am EST)

    It’s time for the State to step in and dismantle the Claremont School board.
    Frank quit. When the shit finally hit the fan, shit Frank knew all about because his wife was a major part of the past administration, he tucked his tail and ran away.
    Now that most of the shit has been cleaned up and the heavy lifting is over, he wants to be reappointed.
    That’s a perfect example of “privilege”
    I said it before I’ll say it again.
    Everyone on the School Board should resign.

  • Dues paying T-shirt member (Sunday, November 09 25 08:21 am EST)

    I heard someone has submitted a FOIA request for ALL emails of the CSB for the last 6 weeks. Person that requested them is not named Sullivan. See if anything greasy shows up.

  • Size M prefers gray color shirt (Sunday, November 09 25 07:26 am EST)

    Nothing says corruption like bringing back Ol Quittin Frank. Dude literally has been there a decade and was on the Finance Committee. Nothing to see here folks.

  • Club member size L (Sunday, November 09 25 07:22 am EST)

    I’m sure it will happen. Back when Dick Seaman was chair of school board his wife was hired to teach at Maple. Course she then taught at Unity where she quit during the middle of a lesson.

  • Reader (who will take a size medium Tshirt) (Sunday, November 09 25 07:05 am EST)

    Has anyone checked if Sprague's daughter has also found her way onto the payroll? If she hasn't, anyone want to set an over/under on how long that takes for them to find her a job?

  • Reader (Sunday, November 09 25 06:51 am EST)

    There's this old joke "I don't care what others say about you, you're a good guy." Well, you really aren't very popular with the people in charge of this town, but I do look forward all week to reading this report, and think many others do who don't admit it. It is a public service.

    The thing with Sprague and his wife is very fishy. Especially her getting the job at Bluff when there was a hiring freeze.

    Did you catch Madden saying something like "I thought this was all worked out". It seems there was even more going on behind the scenes than we know. Might be worth trying to get some of those emails.

    The partisanship is bad and getting worse. Remember Mike voted to send the vote to the council at last meeting. Then voted against it this meeting because of the thing with Sprague. Clearly some coordination with Whitney. But then Loren completely screwed over himself and his own side just to make a dumb point in the moment.

    Fellow citizens, please please please, vote all of these clowns out the first chance you get.

  • T-shirts of all sizes available (Sunday, November 09 25 06:45 am EST)

    Ol hatchet-face violated alot of board policies. Funny how the ‘crats all voted for the Lavallette guy…he had a Trump flag flying in his yard all summer. Lmao

  • Jim Sullivan (Sunday, November 09 25 06:22 am EST)

    Four new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.

    1) Frank Sprague reappointed to the Claremont School Board!

    2) Three articles worth reading.

    3) It's about time!

    4) Is Nancy Bates about to be named Permanent City Manager?

  • T-shirt Volume Discount (Sunday, November 09 25 02:07 am EST)

    Whitney's daughter went to Claremont Christian Academy. Nothing says you support the Claremont schools like refusing to send your own kid to them. That's why Whitney votes against funding anything and supported the Cryoden-type EFA guy on the board.

    I'm not in favor of making the city manager live here. But we need to make school board members send their own kids to the school.

    Don't worry, Common Man would never take her. They can't afford for five million bucks to go missing. Hope they are keeping an eye on the daughter.

  • Can we get fleece jumpers, too? (Saturday, November 08 25 11:55 pm EST)

    That would drive the Common Man out of business quick. Having people have to look at her while they eat. Glad Petrin doesn't speak. Imagine having to listen to two of them. The meeting would still be going on.

  • Citizens T-Shirt Club (Saturday, November 08 25 11:25 pm EST)

    I think she does. Mom belongs there with her. Perrin sits there without an original thought and spine.

  • Enough citizens to start a club and get Tshirts (Saturday, November 08 25 11:10 pm EST)

    Doesn't her daughter wait tables at the Common Man? Hope she didn't pay for private school for that. But that would be about Heather's style. Thinks she's better than everyone else in town.

Print | Sitemap
RESTORING BALANCE THROUGH FULL DISCLOSURE

Web ViewMobile View

Logout | Edit page