For Immediate Release

For more information, contact Deputy Director Brian Beihl at 603-620-8300.
Event Dates:

"Funeral for Democracy" 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 21 

Granny D Day Luncheon, noon, Thursday, January 23.   (Reporters welcome to join us for lunch)

 Democracy Milestones this Week: Citizens United Anniversary, a Funeral for Democracy, and a Celebration of a NH Campaign Finance Reformer Named Granny D

CONCORD--With money in the 2020 Presidential and New Hampshire's gubernatorial races expected to reach all time highs, a New Hampshire campaign finance group is commemorating two American democracy milestones next week, one good, the 110th birthday of Doris "Granny D" Haddock, and one not so good, the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.  

For Immediate Release

For more information, contact Deputy Director Brian Beihl at 603-620-8300.
Event Dates:

"Funeral for Democracy" 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 21 

Granny D Day Luncheon, noon, Thursday, January 23.   (Reporters welcome to join us for lunch)

Democracy Milestones this Week: Citizens United Anniversary, a Funeral for Democracy, and a Celebration of a NH Campaign Finance Reformer Named Granny D

CONCORD--With money in the 2020 Presidential and New Hampshire's gubernatorial races expected to reach all time highs, a New Hampshire campaign finance group is commemorating two American democracy milestones next week, one good, the 110th birthday of Doris "Granny D" Haddock, and one not so good, the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.     

Funeral for Democracy

"Tuesday's 'Funeral for Democracy - If We'd Only Done Something Sooner'  commemoration of Citizens United, which allowed for unlimited spending in federal and New Hampshire elections campaigns, is not an event we wanted to hold," said Brian Beihl, deputy director of Open Democracy Action, which works on campaign finance reform in New Hampshire. "But voters need to know how precarious our Democracy has become due to the abuse billions of special interest campaign money has done to our system.  Politicians are no longer responsible to the people who elected them. They're beholden to their donors." Beihl said.

The event will be held beginning at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall Plaza, in front of the NH State House.   A casket procession will take place on the sidewalks of Main Street, followed at noon back in the plaza with eulogies by framer of the U.S. Constitution James Madison, and acquaintances Gerry Mander, Sue Pression among  others.    More information is available by calling 603-620-8300.      

Granny D Day Luncheon

A related but happier event takes place Thursday, as the public is invited for a noon luncheon at St. Paul's honoring Doris "Granny D" Haddock, a New Hampshire grandmother who, before Citizens United and the McCutcheon cases exploded reasonable levels of political spending, recognized how the private funding of elections was taking power away from average citizens.    At 89 years old, Haddock walked 3,200 miles from California to Washington, DC to raise the alarm about this issue with voters, and created a movement of hundreds of thousands of followers, befriending everyday citizens and Presidents alike along the way.  

The luncheon features a welcome by Haddock's grandson, Lawrence Haddock, memories from a friend and associate of Haddock's, Peterborough's Francie Von Mertens, and a review of the Democracy reform legislation being proposed in the New Hampshire legislature this term, including an independent redistricting commission and voting rights bills.

Haddock died in 2010 at age 100, shortly after the Citizens United decision.  This year also marks the twentieth anniversary of her arrival in Washington, a feat which took her 14 months to complete.   To date, volunteers in her organization Open Democracy have walked over 40,000 miles in New Hampshire carrying on her legacy. The next day, January 24, has been proclaimed Granny D Day by Governor Christopher Sununu, and a bill before the legislature aims to make Granny D Day a permanent acknowledgement by the state.

The luncheon will be held at the St. Paul's Church basement, 21 Centre St, Concord.   Parking is on-street parking only, and not the church lot.   RSVP to Doreen at [email protected] or calling 603-608-6211.

For more information about the events or regarding Open Democracy Action, please contact the office at 603-715-8197.

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Open Democracy Action is a non-partisan non-profit organization with over 38,000 members. Open Democracy Action's mission is to bring about and safeguard political equality for the people of New Hampshire.