By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Thomas Clow and Leon Methot won their bids for the Weare Board of Selectmen, voters soundly rejected an effort to seize Supreme Court Justice David Souter’s home, and the town will have two new full-time police officers for the remainder of 2006.

Clow won the highest amount of votes among all candidates in his first bid to the board of selectmen, taking in 955 votes. The owner of Colburn’s Store in North Weare Village, Clow ran on a platform of managing the town’s growth. In a candidate survey he filled out for The Goffstown News, Clow said, “Continued growth is inevitable, but we must find ways to manage that growth so that safety services as well as other public service needs remain and are met in a quality manner.”

Following the election, Clow said, “I’m happy with the vote, and I’m grateful for people who did things I wasn’t expecting,” such as writing letters to the editors of local newspapers and painting signs supporting his candidacy.

Methot, a selectman since 2003, garnered 853 votes in the election. Methot also cited growth control as a major issue cing the town. “Growth control is a wonderful tool when used wisely, but can be a much bigger threat to our town than its intended effect,” Methot wrote in his candidate survey.

Following the election, Methot said, “I’m ecstatic the voters of Weare re-elected me,” and said he planned to work closely on growth planning with the planning board, and will make sure he and selectmen spend the town’s money wisely.

Eminent domain

In a vote that has drawn international attention, town voters rejected an attempt to take the land of Supreme Court Justice David Souter for possible use as a tourist hotel by a margin of 1167-493. The initial warrant article was submitted by petition by the Committee for the Protection of Natural Rights, which counts selectmen candidates Keith Lacasse and Joshua Solomon among its members.

The original article asked the town to seize Souter’s land for the purpose of building a hotel as a protest. The article was effectively nullified at the deliberative session of Town Meeting on Feb. 4, when resident Walter Bohlin, also a candidate for selectman, amended the article so the word “not” would appear before that purpose. Deliberative session voters approved of the amendments by a margin of 94-59.

The article approved at the voting session asks the town not to seize Souter’s home, and to urge the governor and legislature to forbid the taking of private land by eminent domain for economic development purposes in the future.

The move to take Souter’s home came as protest against Souter’s vote in the Supreme Court case of Kelo Vs. New London, Conn., a land-use law case in which the court voted 5-4 in favor of allowing the city of New London to seize the home of Susette Kelo and use it as part of an economic redevelopment plan.

In response, the Committee for the Protection of Natural Rights supported a move to turn Souter’s home into the Lost Liberty Hotel. Tuesday’s vote means that movement is quashed.

Solomon earned 284 votes in his bid for selectmen, and Lacasse brought in 432. Bohlin garnered 354 votes, meaning none of the candidates associated with the Lost Liberty Hotel battle will sit on the board of selectmen.

More police

Voters cast ballots in favor of an article allotting $85,000 for two additional full-time officers, in addition to the nine full-time officers currently employed by Weare, by a margin of 943-761.

Police Chief Gregory Begin said the new officers will make way for around-the-clock police coverage for this town of more than 8,500 residents.

Although the vote on additional police officers did not garner the fevered attention of the Souter article, it did address an issue made more poignant by a recent death due to slow response time.

Other votes

Voters approved a town operating budget of $4,050,829, elected Susan Morin as a library trustee and elected Bradford Macauley for a position on the board of fire wards.

In school district voting, residents approved an operating budget of $11,060,349; and incumbents Matt Thomas and Paul Levandowski both won their unopposed bids for re-election to the school board.