Atkinson Democrats 2-2-2026 General Meeting
Atkinson Democrats 2-2-2026 General Meeting
February 2nd, 2026, 6:20 – 8PM, In Person Meeting
All General Members Welcome
Meeting Started at 6:20 PM
Guest Speaker: Ally Priest (Chris Pappas Campaign)
General Information
o Ally represents the campaign of Chris Pappas who is running for Senate in the upcoming election. He will eventually come down to Atkinson himself as well as other surrounding towns.
o He is campaigning among Democrats in a Primary for the official party nomination and is planning to go against the Republican nomination likely for John Sununu.
o He will be focusing on a message of Affordability (e.g. housing, grocery bills) over the next 6 months and connect with voters on the best way to assist them.
o She asks any person in the crowd to contact her through her email APriest@ChrisPappas.org or her number “603-965-5570” should they want to get involved or ask questions of the Pappas Campaign.
Ally Priest Q&A Answers on Pappas’ Stances
o Pappas supports Israel but supports pressuring Israeli government to allow humanitarian aid.
o Supports Medical Tax Credits
o Does not support DHS funding and supports impeaching Kristi Noem
o Supports the “Public Safety Act” which will direct the massive funding increase that was given to ICE in the “Big Beautiful Bill” to local police forces instead.
o When asked about exact affordability stances Ally said she will “circle back”
o Chris Pappas supports funding for public schools and libraries.
o Ally unsure if Chris Pappas can do anything about local property taxes
o When asked about Marijuana legalization and revenue Ally stated that Chris Pappas supports decriminalizing the drug federally.
o Supports voter education and opposes any efforts to make it harder for people to vote, opposes unreasonable or unnecessary restrictions
o Opposes congressional stock trading, and has signed on to a bill to make it so that Supreme court justices and their families are restricted from trading as well.
Guest Speaker: Kristen Diamond
Kristen Diamond provides a sheet with a synopsis on the voting law changes, providing helpful information about the changes in NH voter laws.
o Voter ID is now required, Voter affidavits are gone
o People are purged from the voter list every five years now instead of every 10 years if they do not vote.
o Passport, government issued ID with name & address, and state IDs are valid forms of identification
o Proof of domicile for out of state or out of country voters required
o Homeless individuals need documentation from a local shelter affirming their current location and living situation
o Absentee ballot requests an ID and notarized, must be received by 5PM on the day of the election
o The Supervisors of the Checklist meet every 90 days to update their voter rolls.
o The Supervisors of the Checklist will meet in Town Hall on February 28 at 9am to make voting changes
o Catherine Zerba is coordinating volunteers for voting day. Email the Supervisors of the Checklist email from the town website to contact her if anyone would like to be a volunteer.
For up-to-date information everyone is recommended to go to the town website, the town website also includes a link to state statutes (to the Secretary of State’s website) for liability reasons in case the state changes them before the town can update its own site.
Number of registered Democrats and Republicans dropping, undeclared category growing. As it stands
o 20% are Democrats
o 42% are Republicans
o 38% are Undeclared
Discussion of Candidate’s to Support
The following are the list of Candidates (be they Democrats, Independents, or Moderate Republicans) that the Executive Board have decided to support or at the very least vote for in the upcoming elections.
Paul Wainright for Selectmen
Chris Tardif and Paul Sedillo for Budget Committee
Margaret (Marnie) Finn for Library Trustee
Christine Duerr and David Pancoast for Conflict-of-Interest Committee
Julia Doherty for School Budget Committee
Micheal Boucher for School Board
Discussion of the Police Station
Do we support the new Police Station?
o Neither the police or fire department have come out to support the plans for the new location, in fact some people have been saying (though unverified) that both the police chief and the fire chief do not support the new location. The general verbal consensus was that both or either the Fire and Police Chiefs should be approached or should go on the record in public to ask their opinions before everyone votes on the article.
o Some members claim that several firefighters do not support the location.
o Other members raise concerns that the Police Department does not have enough room to safely exit and enter the proposed location during emergencies, especially when there are events at the library or Fire Department.
o Several members also aired their dislike of the fact that the DPW construction project was paired with the Police Department’s project in the warrant article instead of being separated.
o Finally, several claim that the plans seem a bit underdeveloped and vague
In conclusion, it’s determined by verbal consensus that the party will likely not be publicly supporting the new Police Station warrant article, at the very least, unless more information is provided and there is visible support from the PD/Fire.
Mailers
Discussion of the creation of one general mailer to be sent to everyone in town encouraging them to vote for certain articles and candidates.
There's also the discussion of a targeted mailer for Democrats, independents, and Republicans each, including the feasibility and goals of doing so.
Meet the Candidates Night
Chris Tardif suggests holding a “Meet the Candidates” event where members of the public can talk and engage with the candidates we are supporting in order to get to know them, bring up issues, and build visibility.
It is suggested this event could be on Saturday February 28th during the day.
Another similar event is also suggested by Chris Tardif called “Candidates and Coffee” On February 25th as a way for certain candidates to mingle with their voter base.
As for the location of such an event, several options are brought up but the one that had the most interest was that of the hall of fellowship at the church.
Closing Business
March 7th visibility event in the morning at the post office as well as another at Dow Commons later in the day.
Reaching out to sign holders in the town and organizing visibility. Karen Moss suggested a Signup Genius.
The executive board is looking to fill a delegate position in the executive board should anyone want to fill it.
Everyone is encouraged to come to the February 5th Timberlane Deliberative session to support public education.
o Members are reminded that they can come as early as 6:00 PM to get a seat
o Members are told that the organization Getting Residents Engaged at Timberlane (GREAT) has a list of babysitters should they need to organize childcare to be able to go.
Meeting Ends at 8pm
