Spanos has demonstrated appalling disregard for our welfare

To The Daily Sun,

"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." — Plato

A troubling trend has seen its instantiation in Laconia. A mayoral candidate espousing ideologies indicative of either malevolent intent towards his constituents or an embarrassingly limited understanding of the issues he seeks to resolve has slipped into the mainstream political arena.

A quick internet search will unveil a disturbing voting record under the name of Peter Spanos. On June 6 he voted “nay” on a bill authorizing solar energy projects. The bill aimed to augment the state’s proportion of solar energy usage. On Feb. 8, 2018, he voted “nay” on a bill prohibiting the provision of conversion therapy to minors. Both of these bills passed; Spanos comprised part of a minority.

The positions suggested by such actions are characterized by a proud rejection of established science. They question the legitimacy of entirely undisputed consensuses on climate change and medical research, among other areas of study. This extremist quality of being decoupled from traditional cognizance of facts, evidence, and science is of course not solely a local issue, but rather symptomatic of a broader, national problem. It is a bizarre and worrisome phenomenon that must be quashed immediately wherever it arises on smaller scales.

Spanos’s deeply concerning history does not end here. His record is also unsalvageably splattered with instances that shed light on what appears to be a flagrant moral deficiency. On June 5 he voted against SB-263, which prohibits discrimination in public schools. Specifically, the measure opens with (and centers around) the assertion that “No person shall be … subjected to discrimination in public schools because of their age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, marital status, familial status, disability, religion, or national origin.” (Section 1, SB-263). A question that I would ask Rep. Peter Spanos, given the opportunity, is simply this: Which of these aforementioned attributes is it acceptable to discriminate on the basis of? Race? Sexual orientation? Religion?

He also voiced his opposition to the creation of a human resources office to investigate sexual harassment complaints in the Legislature, as well as to gun safety legislation and to paid family and medical leave. The litany continues but is best left to the reader for exploration.

Laconia, already in a precarious position, plagued by stratospheric drug and crime rates and never having fully recovered from the 2008 economic recession, cannot afford to accelerate its decline via the election of an individual demonstrating a marred character and an appalling disregard for constituent welfare. The normalization of this sort of detachment from reality must end. We wish to go forward, to 2020, not backward, to the stone ages.

I close with a reminder that each of us, in times such as these, has a moral obligation to act and to vote rather than sit idly by as political leaders as harmful as they are daft gain power. For readers unfamiliar with alternatives, former senator Andrew Hosmer seems a respectable option.

The election takes place Nov. 5.

Nezir Alic

Laconia