MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen have scheduled an “emergency” special non-public meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10 which sources say is in reference to comments made by Board of Mayor and Aldermen Chairman Joseph Levasseur following the board’s Sept. 2 meeting.
Levasseur expressed frustration regarding the response from the Manchester Health Department toward Daniel Mowery last month when it was discovered that Mowery had violated city ordinance regarding the production of pickles within his home.
While Levasseur felt that the city should accept the state’s default homestead food production law rather than the city’s more strict ordinance, feeling that Manchester Health Department Director Anna Thomas and the department as a whole treated Mowery improperly, the board as a whole instead sought to re-examine the ordinance in committee, given that it was created in the 1960s and had not seen any changes since 2001.
Sources have told Ink Link the objective is to seek a majority vote to oust Levasseur as board chair. When reached for comment Tuesday about the meeting, Levasseur was unapologetic.
“When you stand up for the little guy (in this instance, a man jarring pickles in his home) against an unsympathetic powerhouse like Anna ‘Fauci’ Thomas, you can expect retaliation,” said Levasseur to Manchester Ink Link on Tuesday. “The Mayor and Aldermen may leave whip marks on my back, but I’m not caving to the same people who have been trying to oust me for decades. They can all just kiss my pickle!”
Manchester Ink Link e-mailed Thomas for comment on Tuesday.
Earlier in the month, Thomas told Ink Link that the health department follow up on all complaints equally, saying “If the Pope is pickling and selling from his house and happens to live in Manchester, we’d treat it the same way,” a comment which Levasseur jumped on to make derogatory comments about Thomas on his Facebook page.
According to one source who spoke to the Ink Link confidentially, the fact that Thomas is an employee of the city and the Board of Aldermen are her employer, makes Levasseur’s comments the equivalent of bullying, creating a hostile workplace.
Manchester Ink Link will be on hand at Wednesday night’s meeting if any information is released to the public. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Meeting Notice
The 6 p.m. agenda outlines the purpose of the meeting as follows: “A motion would be in order to enter into non-public session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3, II (c) for consideration of matters which, if discussed in public, would likely affect adversely the reputation of any person, other than a member of this board.”