MANCHESTER, N.H. – An attempt to oust At-Large Alderman Joseph Kelly Levasseur as Chair of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen failed on Tuesday.
The motion to vacate the chair came from Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long, who referenced a recent incident involving Levasseur and Manchester resident Scott Hartford, although Long did not name Hartford during the meeting. As he made the motion, Long felt that Levasseur’s Facebook post that potentially played a role in getting a constituent fired from their job was inappropriate for an elected official.
Levasseur fervently responded to Long’s motion, stating that he has the right to post what he wishes on his own Facebook page and Hartford’s comments regarding the assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump were inappropriate. Levasseur referred to the post as “disgusting,” particularly given that the assassination attempt had only recently occurred.
“What he wrote was not only despicable, it was beyond the pale of any human decency,” said Levasseur.
Levasseur added that his goal was not to make Hartford lose his job, nor did he have the power to cost Hartford his job, rather his goal was to inform Hartford’s employer of his comments. Levasseur said that 25 other people soon also informed Hartford’s employer and said that a firefighter also lost his job due to inappropriate social media comments related to the assassination attempt.
Long expressed frustration with Levasseur’s directing comments toward him instead of the mayor, per the board’s rules and Levasseur’s assertion that Long was “despicable,” with Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais gavelling for order as the discussion became heated between Long and Levasseur.
Ward 5 Alderman Anthony Sapienza seconded Long’s motion not because of the social media post, but because of the lack of professionalism during the city budget process earlier this year as well as confusion and poor communication regarding Aldermanic committees.
The motion to remove Levasseur failed on a 7-5 vote, with Long and Sapienza being joined by Dan Goonan (Ward 2), Christine Fajardo (Ward 4), and Jim Burkush (Ward 9) in seeking to remove Levasseur.
Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry felt that elected officials should hold themselves to a higher standard, but would change his vote from voting to remove Levasseur to abstaining from voting completely once Dan O’Neil (At-Large) also voted to abstain. Both Barry and O’Neil felt that they did not have enough information on the social media post itself to make an informed decision on the vote either way.
Later, Ward 6 Alderman Crissy Kantor defended Levasseur for his support during an investigation into allegations that she stole a notebook full of personal information from the Beech Street Shelter. Kantor stated that her action was intended to help the city. Kantor added that those who care about helping the city should be supported, alluding that the board should be united in that goal.
“We need to stop this divide, the divide is killing us,” said Kantor.
