Why would Abear propose a motion he was against?

To The Daily Sun,

The Jan. 22 budget meeting of the Belknap County Delegation was nothing short of surreal. Rep. Sylvia (R-Belmont) was one of the first to speak, and his remarks consisted of lavishing praise on the three county commissioners for doing such a good job. This from a man who has opposed the commissioners every step of the way, and who was one of the representatives who voted No (on Aug. 8, 2017) to the supplemental appropriation that would allow the new corrections center to open. To describe his remarks this week as disingenuous is an understatement. Later in the meeting, when Rep. Sylvia presented his own scorched-earth budget proposal, his true message was on display.

The delegation then voted in favor of a change to one nursing home revenue line in the proposed budget. After that, Rep. Abear made a motion to approve the budget proposal of the commissioners with no changes. When it was pointed out that this motion was inconsistent with the vote just taken on the revenue line, the chairman decided to ignore the problem and go forward with the vote anyway. The suspense mounted, with many of us wondering if it was possible that the delegation would actually do something as sensible as vote in favor of the recommended budget. It seemed so unlikely, and yet ... Then we heard Rep. Abear say that he planned to vote against the motion. The motion that he just made. Rep. Comtois, who had seconded the motion, also stated that she would vote against it. No, these are not typographical errors; this is actually what transpired. A different representative said it best when he expressed being confused.

Ultimately, the delegation voted unanimously against accepting the commissioners’ budget with no changes.

Let us ask ourselves why a representative would propose a motion he was against. Why would another representative second a motion she was against? Perhaps Reps. Abear and Comtois could enlighten us all as to their reasons for playing games with the county taxpayers. Was this some misguided sense of humor? What would they have to gain from these antics? Was this some type of Machiavellian attempt to set up some of their fellow representatives?

Alice in Wonderland Part II will take place on Monday, Jan. 29. At that time, the delegation will consider Rep. Sylvia’s budget proposal, which if approved would jeopardize both the nursing home and the corrections center. It would also threaten the operations of the Sheriff’s Department and the County Attorney. The majority of the Belknap delegation has already shown its unwillingness to invest in the future of the county. Adoption of the Sylvia budget would be a significant step toward dismantling county services as they have historically existed.

Ruth Larson

Alton