At-Large Candidate Says She Was Left Out of Forum

Alderman-At-Large candidate Diane Sheehan says she was "disappointed" to learn about a candidate forum hosted by the City GOP Committee Thursday night, during the organization's October meeting, that included the other five At-Large candidates.

She only learned about the forum the night before.

"I was disappointed to hear about a 'Nashua Aldermanic Candidates Night' at the Crown Plaza, hosted by the City Republican Committee that was billed as an opportunity to hear candidates on the ballot that expressed a desire to speak, that listed only my opponents. I was not invited, and when it was brought to my attention [Wednesday], I, too, expressed a desire to speak, but my call went unreturned," Sheehan said in an email to Nashua Patch.

The Nashua Area Republican Committee website listed several candidates that were on board to speak, including five at-large candidates David Deane, Dan Moriarty, Paula Johnson, Mark Cookson, and Barbara Pressly, as well as Ward 1 candidate Sean McGuinness and Ward 3 candidate David Schoneman.

Schoneman's opponent, Paul Shea, also attended – but only, he said, after seeing something about the forum on Facebook and then reaching out to see if he could participate. The Facebook post was created on Oct. 7, according to an event date stamp.

"I found out about it from the newsfeed on Facebook, and saw the line-up and I thought it would be a great opportunity to connect with more voters," Shea said.

He emailed event organizer Di Lothrop, and got a reply.

"She said that there may be an opportunity for me to speak, although she wasn't sure because there was a limited length of time for the engagement. As it turned out, I did get to talk about why I'm running for Ward 3 alderman," Shea said.

Sitting Alderman Kathy Vitale, contacted Thursday night by Nashua Patch, said she was not aware of the forum, but would have appreciated the opportunity to attend, especially since her opponent, Sean McGuinness, was on the list of those attending.

"Yes, I definitely would have considered attending – I can't think of any of us on the board who wouldn't be happy for the opportunity to discuss the issues at a citywide forum," Vitale said.

Shea said there were candidates for other offices in attendance, including some school board. Toward the end of the forum, Shea said Deane did raise the question to NRCC Chair Andrew Cernota as to whether all candidates had been invited.

"I can't quote what [Cernota] said, but in general, he said that he was aware that Diane [Sheehan] had reached out to the organizer of the event, but he was unsure if they were able to connect," Shea said.

"I believe that someone said Di Lothrop was on her way to Arizona," Shea said.

An attempt to reach Cernota for comment by Nashua Patch Thursday night was unsuccessful.