A New Hampshire institution is being forced out of the job due to “budget cuts.”

For nearly 30 years Mike Marland has been creating some of the most controversial and comical editorial cartoons for the Concord Monitor. This week it was announced that due to budgetary cuts the Monitor would not be renewing Marland’s freelance contract.

I cannot begin to say how sad this makes me and what a horrible decision this is. With the rise of Facebook and Twitter the use of political graphics has exploded. While many of the political cartoonists focus more on National Politics, Marland has always kept his cartoons focused on the Granite State.

Marland has never shied away from controversy in his hard-hitting cartoons. One of his most famous cartoons was when he depicted Former Speaker Bill O’Brien with a “Hitler” mustache.

During O’Brien’s reign of terror, Marland was relentless in showcasing the O’Brien’s extremist agenda and O’Brien’s political tactics, bullying other legislators.

Marland describes himself as “flaming liberal” but still pokes fun at some of the New Hampshire Democrats, like in this example of Ayotte and Hassan daring each other to take the people’s pledge.

Below is another one of my favorites from Marland during the 2014 Senatorial Election campaign.

So, where do we go from here? We cannot let this amazing political commentator be relegated to the history books, as Republicans are about to begin a new reign over the state.

We need Mike’s keen political commentary to continue to be a part of our political discussions.

Right now, Marland and the online media outlet, In Depth NH, are in discussions to continue to publish Marland’s work, but there is another issue. In Depth NH is a non-profit and part of the NH Center for Public Interest Journalism and do not have the funding to continue Marland’s contract.

What In Depth NH needs is someone, or some company, to underwrite Marland’s work. This tax-deductible donation would ensure that Mike receives the compensation he deserves.

Unfortunately I have no idea how much is needed to underwrite Mike’s work, but I would guess it is more than the average donor can fund. For that you need to contact call Nancy West at InDepthNH 603-738-5635.

So if you know of someone who would be interested in supporting Mike’s work by underwriting his column, please share this post with him or her.

I truly hope that someone will come forward to underwrite Mike’s contract to keep his column running for years to come.