340 to 1

It was my birthday dinner.Ellen Read was at my table. So was Concord City Councilor Stacey Brown. We were having a normal human evening when my phone lit up with a Facebook post from a Concord city councilor — and NHCADSV ally — accusing Rep. Ellen Read of illegally parking in a handicap space at CVS on Hall Street without a placard.The post included photos.In those photos, hanging from the rearview mirror of the car in question, clear as day:A New Hampshire Disabled Parking placard.Issued for her disabled husband.Ellen wasn’t even at CVS anymore. She was sitting across from me eating dinner. Stacey Brown confirmed it. I told the councilor she needed to knock it off.This happened the night before the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee was set to hear House Bill 1633 — the bill Ellen Read has been fighting to pass for three years.Here’s what HB 1633 does.It requires hospitals, law enforcement, and first responders to tell sexual assault survivors their rights. Not build a new system. Not mandate new protocols. Just — tell them what they’re legally entitled to ask for.Rep. Ellen Read introduced this bill because of what happened to her. She was assaulted at a party. She went to the ER the next morning and asked to be tested for date rape drugs. The doctor said he didn’t have access to those tests. Then he tested her for cocaine and meth instead.She came in as a victim. She left feeling like a suspect.Three years later, the New Hampshire House passed her bill 340 to 1.The one NO vote? Rep. Eileen Kelly — a Democrat who previously served on the board of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. The same organization that spent three years lobbying to kill this bill. The same organization that receives 98% of its funding from your tax dollars and has fought every attempt at public transparency.This episode has everything.A survivor who became a legislator. A nonprofit that profits from the problem it was built to solve. A former board member casting the lone vote against a survivors’ rights bill. A false Facebook accusation that collapsed under the weight of its own photos. And a birthday dinner that turned into the most NH politics thing that has ever happened to me personally.This is what the playbook looks like when you’re a well-funded organization and someone finally starts holding you accountable.This is the Gracie Gato Podcast. NH politics for Gen X. No spin. No fluff.Hit play.HB 1633 is currently before the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee. If you want to submit testimony or attend the hearing, go to gencourt.state.nh.us.Share this with someone in New Hampshire who needs to hear it. Get full access to The Gracie Gato Podcast at gracieformermrsgato.substack.com/subscribe