February 26, 2015
Letters, New Hampshire

Alexandria, vote yes on Article 16 to fight wind development

Laconia Citizen | February 26, 2015 | thecitizen.villagesoup.com

Most of us would agree that we live in the greatest country in the world. I wholeheartedly believe that, however somewhere along the line, municipal government has been unable to protect and secure the rights of the people including the right to live sustainably.

In Alexandria, as well as nine other communities across the state, Community Rights Based Ordinances (RBO) have been adopted to exercise our right to create a new system of municipal governance. The RBO declares our self-governing authority, which secures and protects our rights as defined in the RBO.

An RBO is founded on our state’s constitution (Article 10 – Right of Revolution), which declares our right to change government. The RBO elevates the rights of the community above the claimed rights of corporations. It includes rights that are fundamental to the sustainability of a community and the ecosystem therein.

In Alexandria, we passed an RBO in March of 2014. This was prompted by our town being faced with an industrial wind turbine corporation proposing an unsustainable project. The developer has since abandoned that project.

Unfortunately, a Portugal-based corporation, “EDP,” has now proposed an industrial wind turbine project, which would include 29 500-foot-tall turbines in Alexandria, Groton, Orange, Dorchester and Canaan. The citizens of Alexandria have said “No!” over and over, only for our voices to fall on deaf ears.

Large corporations that bully small communities and do not acknowledge our efforts to protect our rights has been frustrating to say the least.

We realize that we have to continue to fight for our unalienable right to local self-government and to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents and nature.

As such, we have another RBO on the Alexandria 2015 ballot. It does not replace the current RBO, but rather, complements it, providing our town with additional layers of binding law at the local level. Law is organic and meant to change as needs change.

As wind developers have changed their corporate plans for our community, Citizens of Alexandria Rights Effort (CARE) Group is prepared to encourage binding law at the local level to further protect Alexandria from becoming a wind resource colony.

Vote “yes” on Article “16” on March 10th, 2015 at the Alexandria Old Town Hall from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Remember, absentee ballots are available through the Town Clerk’s Office if you are not able to make the polling hours. Your vote counts!

Sue Ozkan

Alexandria

CARE Group


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/02/26/alexandria-vote-yes-on-article-16-to-fight-wind-development/