Tassey: Rallying the faithful
Publisher’s note: This article was updated on September 18 to reflect information received after publication. Another article will be published with additional information about the series of events surrounding this controversy.
MANCHESTER, NH September 17, 2025–Led by Chairman Ken Tassey, Jr., the Manchester City Republican Committee is rallying to defend Board of Mayor and Aldermen Chairman Joe Kelly Levasseur ahead of tonight’s special meeting of the board. While the agenda calls for a non-public meeting to discuss personnel matters, which if done in public, might affect the reputation of an employee, it is widely believed the board will vote to strip Levasseur, a Republican, of his chairmanship. The state’s Right to Know Law, RSA 91-a, does not permit non-public meetings to discuss the conduct of any elected official nor does it allow items at a special meeting to be discussed if they’re not on an agenda, unless all members agree.
In an email sent to committee members, Tassey writes:
According to the city website, the special non-public meeting to oust Joe Kelly Levasseur from the Chairmanship is still scheduled.
Join us in front of City Hall to protest the meeting at 5:30pm tonight.
Please write to all emails below to cancel the meeting.
Please email all Republicans to not show up, making the meeting a non-starter.
Thomas: The Queen complains
The move to oust Levasseur comes amidst criticism of social media posts criticizing Health Director Anna Thomas for issuing a cease and desist letter to Ward 6 resident Daniel Mowery for sharing homemade pickles with neighbors and friends via a Facebook post. Thomas, to whom he referred to as a “queen” on Facebook, refused to answer questions during the BMA’s meeting on September 2 regarding the steps taken by the department to investigate Mowery’s activity before issuing the cease and desist letter. Thomas refused to answer Levasseur’s questions and Mayor Jay Ruais intervened, trying to shut Levasseur down, saying city officials don’t comment publicly on any investigation. That the investigation was being discussed by the department and the board at the meeting seemed lost on him.
Ruais: Wants Levasseur out
The “emergency meeting” originally called before Tuesday’s election was rescheduled, with Levasseur accusing Ruais and the board’s Democrats of trying to interfere with yesterday’s primary election. The meeting was rescheduled ostensibly because of the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk. Democrat Alderman at-Large Dan O’Neil objected to the rescheduling, noting the board did not reschedule its meeting following the murder of Manchester police officer Michael Briggs.
O’Neil: Mad the meeting was moved
Following the September 2 meeting, Levasseur filed a Right to Know request for any Cease and Desist letters sent to Manchester residents who were sharing what they cooked in their homes with neighbors and friends. That inforation revealed that the Thomas and other department officials may have misled aldermen who were told the department had a policy of not enforcing the city’s ordinances against people making baked goods. That turned out not to be true and Levasseur has had that information sent to the board.
To get more background, please read our original article.
Tassey told Girard at Large he had multiple concerns about the meeting. “Who called the meeting and how was it approved? By a majority? A supermajority? Executive powers? The timing was suspicious and obvious to anyone with a brain that it was politiccally motivated to discredit Levasseur just 6 days before election day, where he would be directly up against his opponent Dan O’Neil for the Alderman at-Large seat.”
He said it was “curious” that O’Neil opposed cancellation the meeting because of Kirk’s assassination, accusing him of wanting a “single purpose, poliitically motivated meeting.”
Tassey concluded:
If Republicans on the BMA want to bury the hatchet and show unity in the party, they should boycott the meeting and block a quorum from taking place.”
His email included links to all board members. They are pasted below as copied from the email.
DEMOCRATS
