Julia Nye: Half-truths about Human Relations Committee divide city

To The Daily Sun,

Gregg Hough’s most recent letter is full of half-truths and fear-mongering. Let’s set the record straight. The Laconia Human Relations Committee (HRC) is a mayor’s committee, created over 20 years ago to encourage dialogue among city residents. The committee is diverse and dedicates significant time and effort to educate and celebrate our city. It plays a pivotal role in organizing the Laconia Multicultural Festival and our annual Dr. Martin Luther King celebration.

The Laconia Human Relations Committee is not a city board, it doesn’t set policy, and it has no authority to bind the city. Every meeting is publicly noticed. Minutes are kept and posted on the city website. The public can attend in person or by Zoom and participate. That’s transparency. I suspect Hough knows this, yet he twists the facts to suggest secrecy where none exists. Peddling distortions to score political points is destructive and dishonest.

Let us also remember the Laconia HRC has publicly and courageously taken a stand against antisemitic and racist incidents in our city. Conversely and embarrassingly, it was then-Rep. Hough who defended the poster of an antisemitic cartoon as having done “absolutely nothing wrong.” The contrast couldn’t be more glaring.

The value of the Laconia HRC is in their willingness to discuss tough issues in public and welcome diverse perspectives. On housing, homelessness, and every challenge we face, Laconia needs collaboration, not scare tactics. We should all be wary of those who make a habit of dividing this community with half-truths. Laconia is better than that.

Julia Nye

Laconia