While SOS probes potential election interference, city moves to replace human

From left, City Attorney Terence O'Rourke, human's oath of office and human with Justice of the Peace Chris Rice (Courtesy photos)

ROCHESTER - Even as the Secretary of State's Office investigates a complaint by a Rochester resident who was barred from performing his elected duties, the City of Rochester is moving forward with replacing him, according to an agenda item listed for Tuesday's City Council meeting.
Agenda item 9.7 is a "Declaration of Vacancy; Ward 6 Ward Clerk," an office won by a Rochester resident who changed his name to human about 10 years ago.
The Secretary of State's Office told The Rochester Voice on Thursday that they were looking into the matter and that they would be contacting human directly after completing their probe.
human was duly-elected Ward Clerk of Rochester's Ward Six during the municipal elections in November, but when he showed up at the polls to perform his duties on Primary Day he was denied his rightful office by City Attorney Terence O'Rourke, who has refused comment on the matter.
human told The Voice that when he went to the City Clerk's Office to give his oath of office he learned that the City of Rochester did not have a Quaker oath variant.
Since human is Quaker, he said he wrote up his own oath "based on the language of the RSAs and the New Hampshire Constitution."
Then on Jan. 16 during City Council public input human explained why he had to fashion his own oath since he is a Quaker and passed out copies of his oath and a picture of him with Rice, the Justice of the Peace who administered the oath.
human said he was confounded when he showed up at the Ward Six polls on Primary Day and was told by Moderator Sara Eames that she would not allow him to serve as Ward Clerk.
"According to Rochester City Clerk Kelly Walters, who instructed Eames not to let me serve, O'Rourke is of the opinion that my Oath of Office is somehow deficient," he told The Rochester Voice in January. "O'Rourke wanted me to subscribe an oath with different language not specified by the New Hampshire Constitution."
Basically, they were asking me - as my first official act in office - to violate state law, human said.
"In the end, I suspect that O'Rourke's objection to the Oath of Office has less to do with its language, and more to do with the Justice of the Peace who administered the Oath.
O'Rourke presided as a de facto judge during the City Council trial of former councilor Rice, who was removed from office in May 2022.
human said he first reported the incident to Rochester Police, but they did not want to get involved, he said.