To the editor: 

Transparency in government means providing comprehensive information that is easy to access. Since 2004, I have served on the town council for five terms, most recently from 2022-2024. I have a record of explaining my decision-making in open sessions — being transparent.

The governing majority of the current council wants to take information away from the voters. They have placed Question 7 before the voters to change the Town Charter to remove party affiliation information from the ballot. They say it would make elections “nonpartisan.” But it would do no such thing. All it would do is remove party designations from the ballot. No longer would a candidate be identified on the ballot as a Republican, Democrat or independent. That’s information that Portsmouth voters have had when they step into the voting booth for generations.

The current council majority’s justifications don’t hold up to scrutiny. But most shocking is that several council members still repeat the assertion that the charter change would allow federal employees to run for local office. It wouldn’t, and they know that. Federal employees are prohibited from running in partisan elections under the Hatch Act. But just removing party labels from the ballot does not make an election nonpartisan under that law. In 2024, the United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) published an advisory opinion summarizing the law. The OSC opinion stated very clearly that if even just one other candidate in a race receives a party endorsement, the election is considered partisan and federal employees may not participate.

Here in Portsmouth, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party will each remain free to endorse candidates in local elections. The proposed charter amendment won’t change that. I provided the OSC opinion to the current town council members over a year ago. I provided it to them again earlier this month. Yet still they repeat the claim that the charter change would let federal employees run for local office. That’s false. That’s deceptive. That’s literally the opposite of transparency.

I question why Republicans on the council want to hide their party affiliation from you. I’m running for town council as a member of the Democratic Party, and I want everyone to know that information when they step into the voting booth. Some folks may vote for me, or against me, because of that, while others may not care either way. That is each voter’s personal choice. But whether party affiliation matters to you or not, I want you to have that information when you go to vote.

I resigned from the council in 2024 to care for my wife, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Although that was a deeply personal and private matter, I stated the reason for my resignation in an open public session because I believe in transparency — that the public deserves to know why council members make their decisions. I ask for your vote, and I urge you to reject Question 7.

Len Katzman

Portsmouth

Note: Katzman is a candidate for Portsmouth Town Council.