To the editor:

The Portsmouth Council’s majority has for some time treated some of the citizens who appear before them with indifference and, to an alarming extent, with outright contempt. 

This approach is led by council member Charles Levesque, and he has at times involved others in the majority. It has at times involved shouting and constant interruption in order to disrupt the thoughts of the citizens speaking to the body.

A number of council members, but not all, have become increasingly unresponsive and disinterested in the issues private citizens bring to them. Despite frequent denials from council members, a good proportion of citizen requests to be heard do not make it onto the agenda. 

The First Amendment guarantees all of us the right “… to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Requests to place items on the agenda are the method by which this right is exercised in local government. 

Something is fundamentally wrong when citizens are treated in such a manner by their own government.

Town government was founded by the citizens of Portsmouth under the State Constitution’s Home Rule provisions. The people of Portsmouth formed this government by writing and approving the Town Charter, and we should get respect when attending public meetings of our elected and appointed bodies.

Shouting at citizens should be considered out of order. They are, after all the people they represent. It is time for more decorum in council chambers.

Larry Fitzmorris

President, Portsmouth Concerned Citizens

50 Kristen Court

Portsmouth