15 Conversations: What I Learned in Seabrook

I’m on a tour of 15 communities in 16 days, and as part of my travels, I’m documenting what I’ve learned in those communities for my blog. Here’s what I learned in Seabrook.

Seabrook has a reputation for being one of the most Trump-friendly towns in NH. I can speak from experience having canvassed for state and federal candidates in Seabrook that its reputation is certainly well-deserved. That said, the current enthusiasm for Trump in the town belies the rich history of direct action and community-centered organizing that has defined the town for generations. The current leadership of the Seabrook Dems: Bob and Lisa Albright, Sam Merrill, and Laura Carty are no exception.

In Seabrook, I met grandparents who are concerned their grandkids have fewer opportunities than they did. I met artists who want to find community and make the world a more kind and beautiful place. I met a third grade teacher whose students are learning about the state of NH at the same time as the state is trying to defund public education.

Seabrook has a vibrant Democratic committee that is growing under the steady and energetic leadership of Bob and Lisa Albright.

I met people who are worried about municipal budgets and roads in need of repair, and a room full of residents, young and old, who are excited about the possibility of a rail trail finally coming to Seabrook. Of course, knowing what they know about Concord and Washington, they’re also a little skeptical that it will actually ever be finished. I heard from people concerned about sea level rise leading to salt water inundation.

These days, there a stiff headwinds for Democratic activists in Seabrook. As we discussed the many challenges, I saw knowing glances around the room about how many Trump supporters are in town. I heard people speak about fragile truces in neighborhoods, and I was struck by the number of people who shared that they were surprised to discover that there are other Democrats in Seabrook! I asked one woman when she joined the Seabrook Dems, and she said that she had actually been attending another local town committee because she didn’t think Seabrook had one! It just so happened that this was an event where I was speaking, and she learned from my remarks that there was a committee right here in Seabrook!

She wasn’t alone, another couple I saw in Seabrook I had first met at the County Commission meeting where we were speaking out against ICE. I told them about the Seabrook Democrats, and here they were! This is why I don’t rush out after my remarks. I stay for these conversations.

Former State Rep and School Board member, Trisha O’Keefe.

Another couple had been driving all the way to Portsmouth and were thrilled to discover that there was a thriving community of Democrats right in their own backyard. Now, instead of driving to Portsmouth for No Kings, they are planning visibilities right here in town.

And, of course, people spoke about the need to find strong, courageous, and compelling state rep candidates. The candidates who can win in towns like Seabrook have to be able to speak to the everyday concerns that define life in a seaside community that lives in the shadow of a nuclear power plant but still struggles with soaring energy costs, fights to keep its schools afloat, and grapples with the loss of state revenue after former Governor Jeanne Shaheen took tax revenue from the Seabrook nuclear plant and redistributed it to the rest of the state.

These are the lived realities and local concerns that animate a community and cut through the partisan division driven by cable news and social media. They are the concerns that Democratic politicians and activists can speak to when they show up and stay for the tough conversations.

In my experience, most people in this district agree on most of the things they want out of life. They want to send their kids to good schools. They want clean water to drink, and they want to make enough money to put food on the table, a roof over their heads, and have the time, energy, and resources to give back in their communities.

Leaders like Trisha O’Keefe are a perfect example of this. From the State House to the School Board, Trisha has been showing up for her neighbors for decades. Back in the 1970’s, she joined the thousands who flooded into the marshes around Seabrook in an attempt to stop the construction of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. Ultimately, after years of cost overruns and delays, the plant was built.

Seabrook’s story is about more than just the power plant. It is also about decades of struggle over its public schools, the opioid crisis, and like every other town in NH: property taxes. Trisha and other community activists may not have won the fight against the power plant, but they didn’t give up on their neighbors and the community they love. They keep showing up—working to build a better and stronger town together.

We need leaders in Washington who live and breath this work and understand the courage, commitment, and compassion it takes to lead like Bob, Lisa, Laura, Sam, Trisha, and the rest of the Seabrook Dems.

Much of Seabrook’s political and economic history in the second half of the twentieth century was defined by the struggle of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant.