"Manchester aldermen: Sullivan booted, staging runoff between 2 rivals"
By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, September 16, 2009
MANCHESTER – Alderman Peter Sullivan was knocked out of contention last night in the highly competitive race for the Ward 3 alderman's seat, setting the stage for a run-off between two rivals who have experience representing the downtown ward in City Hall.
Former Aldermen Pat Long, a Democrat, and Joe Kelly Levasseur, a Republican, were tied at 223 votes in that race, according to unofficial results. Their totals were enough to edge out the Democratic incumbent, Sullivan, who had 162 votes.
Yesterday's primary also presaged a tight race in Ward 12, which will pit Republican former Alderman Keith Hirschmann against Democrat Patrick Arnold, and in Ward 2, where former city Parks Director Ron Ludwig, a Democrat, will face down school board member Bob O'Sullivan, a Republican.
The gap between Hirschmann and Arnold was especially narrow, with Hirschmann besting the 26-year-old law clerk by just 4 votes.
"The numbers show it is incredibly close," Arnold said afterward. Ultimately, he said, "the hardest-working candidate is going to win in November."
Races for the other two open board seats, in Wards 1 and 6, also took shape yesterday. In Ward 6, Republican state Rep. Will Infantine came out on top, beating his nearest rival, New Hampshire Young Democrats President Garth Corriveau, by 64 votes. The two men will square off in the Nov. 3 election.
Meanwhile, Democratic school board member Joyce Craig proved every bit the front-runner in Ward 1, taking 75 percent of the vote in a three-way race. She'll go head-to-head with Richard Higgins, a 55-year-old Republican who trailed way behind with an 18-percent showing.
Outside of the mayor's race, Sullivan's defeat in Ward 3 was the talk of the night. Alderman Russ Ouellette, a Democrat, said he expected Sullivan would finish "at least in second place." "To me, that's a shocker," Ouellette said.
Sullivan had unkind words for both of his rivals last night -- particularly Levasseur, whom he called "unfit for any public office." "It's unfortunate," Sullivan said, "because now you're going to have a general election match-up between two people that don't really reflect the changing face of Manchester. You have two guys that practice old-school politics."
Long said he expected the race to be close. He could not account for Sullivan's loss, saying, "My message wasn't on Sullivan. I knew I had a lot of support there."
Republicans suffered a defeat in Ward 5, where the GOP candidate, Bob Tarr, was brushed aside in favor of two Democrats: Alderman Ed Osborne and state Rep. Ted Rokas. Osborne was top vote-getter, with 321 votes, compared to 184 for Rokas and 97 for Tarr.
The Republican candidate also came up short in Ward 8, where voters will see a race between Democratic Alderman Betsi DeVries and bar owner Christine Pariseau Telge, an independent. DeVries won the primary with 608 votes, compared to 400 for Pariseau Telge and 113 for Republican James C. Webb, Jr.
Meanwhile, in Ward 7, Alderman Bill Shea, a Democrat, crushed his competition, garnering 59 percent of the vote. He'll compete against mail carrier Lisa J. Gravel, an independent, in November.
The race between Ludwig and O'Sullivan in Ward 2 came down to 10 votes, with Ludwig on top. Elise Annunziata, a Democrat and first-time candidate, had a strong showing, trailing O'Sullivan by just 23 votes, though her take was not enough to keep her candidacy alive.
The candidate who failed to break through in Ward 12 was Gerard Brunelle. Strangely enough, though, Brunelle will still be on the ballot in November in a special election to decide who will fill the seat for the remainder of the current term, which ends in early January. The seat has been open since Kelleigh Murphy's resignation in May.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Alderman Peter Sullivan tried to use the Manchester Police Department to intimidate his critics!
"No charges in threats against alderman"
By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, 3/14/2009
MANCHESTER – Former Alderman Keith Hirschmann says he was just being "sarcastic" when he threatened to maim Alderman Peter Sullivan in a message on an online discussion board.
"There was never any intent. He knows I wasn't going to hurt him," Hirschmann said.
Hirschmann said he confessed to posting the message when a police detective confronted him about it. A police supervisor said he does not expect to file any charges in the case.
"We looked into it," Capt. Gerald Lessard said. "At this point, we don't have enough probable cause to support a criminal charge."
Sullivan, a Ward 3 Democrat, said he interpreted the message as a death threat. The message referred to Sullivan by name and said, "if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, i'll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself."
The writer then mused about what would happen if a car rammed into Sullivan at 25 mph, saying, "well that (would) put part of you near bridge st."
The message was posted last November on a discussion board for the Web site nhinsider.com. It was written under the pseudonym, "suncoastkid."
Sullivan said he discovered the posting on Thanksgiving morning. He described the message as "unsettling" and "really creepy."
"It rattled me, because I didn't know who was doing it," Sullivan said.
He was shocked, he said, when a police detective told him the department had traced the message to Hirschmann, a former state representative and alderman.
"Keith can be a bull in a china shop, (but) he's not a total idiot. He's not insane," Sullivan said. "I don't know what he was thinking when he did this."
Hirschmann, a Republican, was Ward 12 alderman from 1996 to 2002. He has said he plans to run for the seat again this fall.
Hirschmann started posting on the discussion board as "suncoastkid" last October, according to the site. Sullivan also posts on the site, under the name "Quoth the Raven."
"It's a political site where there's a lot of sarcasm and a lot of bantering back and forth," Hirschmann said. He described the November 2008 message as an example of "extreme sarcasm" -- "just a little bantering on a site."
Hirschmann said he believes the only reason Sullivan went to the police was because he thought the message was posted by a political rival, Joe Kelly Levasseur.
"He couldn't wait to get Joe Levasseur in trouble," Hirschmann said.
Levasseur is Hirschmann's attorney. He declined to be interviewed for this article.
The November 2008 message begins, "Dear unstable Raven," and is replete with misspellings. At one point, it says, "let's see @ 25mph how far an (unstable) raven would splatter ... 260pds of sullivan @ 25mph = velocity of 2x2, well that (would) put part of you near bridge st."
It closes, "Forget the math your labotomy won't allow anything more than raising parking fess , you doufis."
Sullivan said the message crossed a line.
"There are just certain things you don't do," he said. "Threats ... have no place in politics, at any level, whether it's on an Internet discussion board or in a committee room."
-
SOURCE:
www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=No+charges+in+threats+against+alderman&articleId=39716ff6-12a2-4a99-a736-ab7288d92d26
-
READERS' COMMENTS
Obviously, Hirschmann was only trying to ruffle Sullivans's feathers..... and it worked.
The person in charge of the site should have removed the tasteless post immediately. There was no reason to get the police involved.
- Bill H., Exeter
I am always amazed at how politicians behave. This apparently is one more example. And...we elect these people???
- Debbie, Goffstown
Actually, on the rest of the boards there there is the wailing and moaning of conservative Republicans that Hussein Obama is doing way too much of what he promised. Funny how the picking and choosing of the stuff you hate comes back to haunt you. Then there are the state Dems with civil unions, raising minimum wage, LCHIP, transparency. It is easy to criticize without facts. Now on to seat belts, health care, Bush's wars, and economic mess. You conservatives are just going to have to think up some new bleats.
- Robert, Deerfield
Levasseur, Sullivan and Hirschmann , ..... Moe, Larry and Curly.....Enough said!!
- Art B, Manchester
Hirschmann's a large man. And mix him with Levasseur. You've got a "Wild Fire" there!
I agree with Sullivan....the message crossed a line and should be taken as a threat.
- Robert Brody, Manchester
Whens the last time a politician Actually did something they said they were going to do...
this isn't news
- Dan, hooksett
----------
-
-
Alderman Peter M Sullivan
-
----------
3/14/2009
Despite Alderman Peter Sullivan falsely reporting me to the Manchester NH Police Department for an Internet Blog Posting I did NOT make against him,...It was NOT me after all!
-Jonathan Melle
----------
CYBER WARRIOR: Former Alderman Keith Hirschmann has confessed to doing some sarcastic "bantering" on the nhinsider.com discussion board before Alderman Peter Sullivan sicked the police on him.
It's true, he did make some mischief. In November, his online alter ego, "suncoastkid," took a shot at former state Rep. Mike Brunelle, dredging up the time in 2007 when the Manchester Democrat was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Hirschmann wrote: "if I were on duty and Brunelle pulled that bs ~ I would have clubbed him in the back of the Paddy wagon."
The suncoastkid also predicted, last November, that Sullivan would lose his seat this fall, either to Pat Long or Joe Kelly Levasseur, both former aldermen.
Other insights, courtesy of the "kid," include, "Hussein Obama should get his head checked," and "Slavery has not ended, it has just morphed into the dumming (sic) of the masses."
-
SOURCE: "City Hall: One's out, sure, but two others might be in"
By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, 3/15/2009
-
----------
MANCHESTER EXPRESS - March 16 - 22, 2009, Volume 4, No. 12
MANCHESTER News - "Board recognizes miscommunication: Politics in Manchester gets uglier as election nears" - By ANDREW J. MANUSE, amanuse@manchexpress.com - Pages 10 - 11.
Pre-election politics
Keith Hirschmann, who has announced his candidacy for the Ward 12 alderman seat, said he is responsible for a comment on the blog New Hampshire Insider that Ward 3 Alderman Peter Sullivan has said was “a death threat” written against him by Joe Kelly Levasseur.
Though Levasseur is Hirschmann’s attorney, he has been absolved of any connection to the comment.
The comment posted about Sullivan on Thanksgiving Day in 2008 by Hirschmann, who uses the alias “suncoastkid,” read as follows:
“if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, I’ll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself, let’s see @ 25mph how far an uns[t]able raven would splatter (260pds of sullivan @ 25mph = velocity of 2x2 , well that put put part of you near bridge st. Forget the math your labotomy won’t allow anything more than raising parking fess , you doufis.” (sic)
Manchester Police informed Sullivan that they tracked the comment back to Hirschmann’s IP address, and that the former alderman admitted he posted it, Sullivan said. Manchester Police Chief David Mara could not be reached to confirm this.
“Speaking from a legal perspective, it might be difficult to obtain a conviction, since establishing the requisite mental state beyond a reasonable doubt would be a tricky proposition,” Sullivan wrote in an e-mail. “This does not mean that I am ruling out the possibility of a civil suit.
“I am stunned that an adult would do something like this,” Sullivan continued. “There is a difference between spirited debate and making threats against a person’s safety. Hirschmann crossed a line that civilized and decent people simply do not cross under any circumstances.
When Hirschmann engages in this kind of behavior, he shows that he is unfit for any role in public life.”
Hirschmann, through his attorney Levasseur, confirmed he had made the comment.
“After watching Mr. Sullivan completely lose his cool at a recent aldermanic meeting it is obvious he is too fragile to handle the pressure of being an elected official, and it has become more than obvious that he cannot handle a joke said on a political Web-site about his penchant for never walking within the crosswalk,” Hirschmann said.
“As proven by his numerous blog postings, Mr. Sullivan has a long history of railing against anyone that disagrees with him.
Mr. Sullivan has publicly admitted he has been treated for depression, [and] in my opinion, maybe it is time for him to step down from his Ward 3 seat, and get help for his obvious paranoia.”
----------
From: "Peter M. Sullivan" peter_sullivan@verizon.net
To: jonathan_a_melle@yahoo.com
Subject: Your actions
Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 5:57 PM
Jonathan,
Please be informed that I am forwarding your new blog and your recent messages to me to Attorney Harpster. In addition, I am forwarding your name and contact information to the Manchester Police Department in regards to their ongoing investigation into the death threat that was posted on NH Insider last month.
Peter Sullivan
----------
3/20/2009
Alderman Peter Sullivan alleged to the Manchester Police Department that I made a "death threat" against him. In an email (above) that he sent to me on 12/17/2008, Alderman Peter Sullivan stated to me that he forwarded my writings to Brett Harpster (or HarpsTERD!) and also issued a complaint to the local police that I made a "death threat" against him. Now that the police have discovered who posted the message against Alderman Peter Sullivan, I believe that he should retract his allegation against me!
- Jonathan Melle
----------
UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED: One alderman did object to another of Guinta's picks.
Alderman Peter Sullivan protested Keith Hirschmann's appointment to the Safety Review Board, saying the former Ward 12 alderman "has no place in the civic life of this community."
There is some history here. Last fall, Hirschmann threatened Sullivan in an anonymous message on an Internet discussion board, writing, "if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, i'll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself."
Sullivan reported the message to the police. No charges were filed.
The aldermen confirmed Hirschmann's nomination Tuesday. Sullivan cast the lone dissenting vote.
"Geez. What are you going to say?" Hirschmann said when asked for a response. "The mayor appointed me and 12 other aldermen put me on the Safety Review Board. I'm going to work hard there. That's my quote."
-
Source: "City Hall: Roy bides his time with signs" (By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, August 23, 2009)
-
-
Read Scott Brooks' coverage of Manchester City Hall during the week in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Email him at sbrooks@unionleader.com.
-
----------
By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, 3/14/2009
MANCHESTER – Former Alderman Keith Hirschmann says he was just being "sarcastic" when he threatened to maim Alderman Peter Sullivan in a message on an online discussion board.
"There was never any intent. He knows I wasn't going to hurt him," Hirschmann said.
Hirschmann said he confessed to posting the message when a police detective confronted him about it. A police supervisor said he does not expect to file any charges in the case.
"We looked into it," Capt. Gerald Lessard said. "At this point, we don't have enough probable cause to support a criminal charge."
Sullivan, a Ward 3 Democrat, said he interpreted the message as a death threat. The message referred to Sullivan by name and said, "if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, i'll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself."
The writer then mused about what would happen if a car rammed into Sullivan at 25 mph, saying, "well that (would) put part of you near bridge st."
The message was posted last November on a discussion board for the Web site nhinsider.com. It was written under the pseudonym, "suncoastkid."
Sullivan said he discovered the posting on Thanksgiving morning. He described the message as "unsettling" and "really creepy."
"It rattled me, because I didn't know who was doing it," Sullivan said.
He was shocked, he said, when a police detective told him the department had traced the message to Hirschmann, a former state representative and alderman.
"Keith can be a bull in a china shop, (but) he's not a total idiot. He's not insane," Sullivan said. "I don't know what he was thinking when he did this."
Hirschmann, a Republican, was Ward 12 alderman from 1996 to 2002. He has said he plans to run for the seat again this fall.
Hirschmann started posting on the discussion board as "suncoastkid" last October, according to the site. Sullivan also posts on the site, under the name "Quoth the Raven."
"It's a political site where there's a lot of sarcasm and a lot of bantering back and forth," Hirschmann said. He described the November 2008 message as an example of "extreme sarcasm" -- "just a little bantering on a site."
Hirschmann said he believes the only reason Sullivan went to the police was because he thought the message was posted by a political rival, Joe Kelly Levasseur.
"He couldn't wait to get Joe Levasseur in trouble," Hirschmann said.
Levasseur is Hirschmann's attorney. He declined to be interviewed for this article.
The November 2008 message begins, "Dear unstable Raven," and is replete with misspellings. At one point, it says, "let's see @ 25mph how far an (unstable) raven would splatter ... 260pds of sullivan @ 25mph = velocity of 2x2, well that (would) put part of you near bridge st."
It closes, "Forget the math your labotomy won't allow anything more than raising parking fess , you doufis."
Sullivan said the message crossed a line.
"There are just certain things you don't do," he said. "Threats ... have no place in politics, at any level, whether it's on an Internet discussion board or in a committee room."
-
SOURCE:
www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=No+charges+in+threats+against+alderman&articleId=39716ff6-12a2-4a99-a736-ab7288d92d26
-
READERS' COMMENTS
Obviously, Hirschmann was only trying to ruffle Sullivans's feathers..... and it worked.
The person in charge of the site should have removed the tasteless post immediately. There was no reason to get the police involved.
- Bill H., Exeter
I am always amazed at how politicians behave. This apparently is one more example. And...we elect these people???
- Debbie, Goffstown
Actually, on the rest of the boards there there is the wailing and moaning of conservative Republicans that Hussein Obama is doing way too much of what he promised. Funny how the picking and choosing of the stuff you hate comes back to haunt you. Then there are the state Dems with civil unions, raising minimum wage, LCHIP, transparency. It is easy to criticize without facts. Now on to seat belts, health care, Bush's wars, and economic mess. You conservatives are just going to have to think up some new bleats.
- Robert, Deerfield
Levasseur, Sullivan and Hirschmann , ..... Moe, Larry and Curly.....Enough said!!
- Art B, Manchester
Hirschmann's a large man. And mix him with Levasseur. You've got a "Wild Fire" there!
I agree with Sullivan....the message crossed a line and should be taken as a threat.
- Robert Brody, Manchester
Whens the last time a politician Actually did something they said they were going to do...
this isn't news
- Dan, hooksett
----------
-
-
Alderman Peter M Sullivan
-
----------
3/14/2009
Despite Alderman Peter Sullivan falsely reporting me to the Manchester NH Police Department for an Internet Blog Posting I did NOT make against him,...It was NOT me after all!
-Jonathan Melle
----------
CYBER WARRIOR: Former Alderman Keith Hirschmann has confessed to doing some sarcastic "bantering" on the nhinsider.com discussion board before Alderman Peter Sullivan sicked the police on him.
It's true, he did make some mischief. In November, his online alter ego, "suncoastkid," took a shot at former state Rep. Mike Brunelle, dredging up the time in 2007 when the Manchester Democrat was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Hirschmann wrote: "if I were on duty and Brunelle pulled that bs ~ I would have clubbed him in the back of the Paddy wagon."
The suncoastkid also predicted, last November, that Sullivan would lose his seat this fall, either to Pat Long or Joe Kelly Levasseur, both former aldermen.
Other insights, courtesy of the "kid," include, "Hussein Obama should get his head checked," and "Slavery has not ended, it has just morphed into the dumming (sic) of the masses."
-
SOURCE: "City Hall: One's out, sure, but two others might be in"
By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, 3/15/2009
-
----------
MANCHESTER EXPRESS - March 16 - 22, 2009, Volume 4, No. 12
MANCHESTER News - "Board recognizes miscommunication: Politics in Manchester gets uglier as election nears" - By ANDREW J. MANUSE, amanuse@manchexpress.com - Pages 10 - 11.
Pre-election politics
Keith Hirschmann, who has announced his candidacy for the Ward 12 alderman seat, said he is responsible for a comment on the blog New Hampshire Insider that Ward 3 Alderman Peter Sullivan has said was “a death threat” written against him by Joe Kelly Levasseur.
Though Levasseur is Hirschmann’s attorney, he has been absolved of any connection to the comment.
The comment posted about Sullivan on Thanksgiving Day in 2008 by Hirschmann, who uses the alias “suncoastkid,” read as follows:
“if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, I’ll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself, let’s see @ 25mph how far an uns[t]able raven would splatter (260pds of sullivan @ 25mph = velocity of 2x2 , well that put put part of you near bridge st. Forget the math your labotomy won’t allow anything more than raising parking fess , you doufis.” (sic)
Manchester Police informed Sullivan that they tracked the comment back to Hirschmann’s IP address, and that the former alderman admitted he posted it, Sullivan said. Manchester Police Chief David Mara could not be reached to confirm this.
“Speaking from a legal perspective, it might be difficult to obtain a conviction, since establishing the requisite mental state beyond a reasonable doubt would be a tricky proposition,” Sullivan wrote in an e-mail. “This does not mean that I am ruling out the possibility of a civil suit.
“I am stunned that an adult would do something like this,” Sullivan continued. “There is a difference between spirited debate and making threats against a person’s safety. Hirschmann crossed a line that civilized and decent people simply do not cross under any circumstances.
When Hirschmann engages in this kind of behavior, he shows that he is unfit for any role in public life.”
Hirschmann, through his attorney Levasseur, confirmed he had made the comment.
“After watching Mr. Sullivan completely lose his cool at a recent aldermanic meeting it is obvious he is too fragile to handle the pressure of being an elected official, and it has become more than obvious that he cannot handle a joke said on a political Web-site about his penchant for never walking within the crosswalk,” Hirschmann said.
“As proven by his numerous blog postings, Mr. Sullivan has a long history of railing against anyone that disagrees with him.
Mr. Sullivan has publicly admitted he has been treated for depression, [and] in my opinion, maybe it is time for him to step down from his Ward 3 seat, and get help for his obvious paranoia.”
----------
From: "Peter M. Sullivan"
To: jonathan_a_melle@yahoo.com
Subject: Your actions
Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 5:57 PM
Jonathan,
Please be informed that I am forwarding your new blog and your recent messages to me to Attorney Harpster. In addition, I am forwarding your name and contact information to the Manchester Police Department in regards to their ongoing investigation into the death threat that was posted on NH Insider last month.
Peter Sullivan
----------
3/20/2009
Alderman Peter Sullivan alleged to the Manchester Police Department that I made a "death threat" against him. In an email (above) that he sent to me on 12/17/2008, Alderman Peter Sullivan stated to me that he forwarded my writings to Brett Harpster (or HarpsTERD!) and also issued a complaint to the local police that I made a "death threat" against him. Now that the police have discovered who posted the message against Alderman Peter Sullivan, I believe that he should retract his allegation against me!
- Jonathan Melle
----------
UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED: One alderman did object to another of Guinta's picks.
Alderman Peter Sullivan protested Keith Hirschmann's appointment to the Safety Review Board, saying the former Ward 12 alderman "has no place in the civic life of this community."
There is some history here. Last fall, Hirschmann threatened Sullivan in an anonymous message on an Internet discussion board, writing, "if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, i'll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself."
Sullivan reported the message to the police. No charges were filed.
The aldermen confirmed Hirschmann's nomination Tuesday. Sullivan cast the lone dissenting vote.
"Geez. What are you going to say?" Hirschmann said when asked for a response. "The mayor appointed me and 12 other aldermen put me on the Safety Review Board. I'm going to work hard there. That's my quote."
-
Source: "City Hall: Roy bides his time with signs" (By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, August 23, 2009)
-
-
Read Scott Brooks' coverage of Manchester City Hall during the week in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Email him at sbrooks@unionleader.com.
-
----------
Friday, March 6, 2009
Pat Long to unseat Alderman Peter M Sullivan in 2009!
-
-
[The] MANCHESTER [NH] EXPRESS: March 2 - 8, 2009, Volume 4, No. 10
"Politics this week"
By JOSEPH KELLY LEVASSEUR, Express Columnist
Former Ward 3 alderman Pat Long publicly announced he is running against Alderman Peter Sullivan. Long said he could not believe that Sullivan voted to increase the parking rates downtown and add paid Saturday parking to the mix.
“I just do not understand how this guy thinks, or what he was thinking about when he made that vote,” Long said. “I cannot believe he publicly called his fellow aldermen ‘assholes.’ … I get a lot of complaints about him.”
Long, who is now state Representative for Ward 3, voted against a law that would require adults to wear seat belts.
----------
-
-
Alderman Peter M Sullivan
----------
-
[The] MANCHESTER [NH] EXPRESS: March 2 - 8, 2009, Volume 4, No. 10
"Politics this week"
By JOSEPH KELLY LEVASSEUR, Express Columnist
Former Ward 3 alderman Pat Long publicly announced he is running against Alderman Peter Sullivan. Long said he could not believe that Sullivan voted to increase the parking rates downtown and add paid Saturday parking to the mix.
“I just do not understand how this guy thinks, or what he was thinking about when he made that vote,” Long said. “I cannot believe he publicly called his fellow aldermen ‘assholes.’ … I get a lot of complaints about him.”
Long, who is now state Representative for Ward 3, voted against a law that would require adults to wear seat belts.
----------
-
-
Alderman Peter M Sullivan
----------
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Alderman Peter Sullivan slanders Jonathan Melle on "democraticunderground.com"!
"While you guys were partying..."
Wednesday January-21-2009, 12:37 AM
Original message
The article would have you believe that this was a two-way shouting match. It was not. Mr. Levasseur launched a series of off the wall and occasionally incoherent accusations. I chose to respond by stepping down from my seat at the aldermanic platform as a private citizen. I'm not sure why Scott Brooks sees this as "bizarre". In most bodies, it is actually proper protocol to do so.
Mr. Levasseur has been using Jonathan Melle to goad me. Melle is a mentally ill individual who is facing felony charges for assaulting a Manchester police officer with his car in 2007. I find it abhorent that Levasseur would choose to exploit this disturbed man's condition in order to score political points.
In addition, Levasseur has not limited his attacks to my performance as alderman. he has threatened to obtain my medical records and make an issue out of my having been treated for depression. He has made utterly vile comments about my wife. he has attacked my friends. I'm not talking about a couple of emails; I am talking about 70 or so, not counting innumerable blog posts under various names.
I know that many people here are familiar with Levasseur's antics, but there are people who will see this and draw the wrong conclusion. Sadly, I am in a position where my good name is doomed no matter what I do. If I confront Levasseur, I am engaging in "shouting mathces". If I ignore him, his slurs go uncorrected and are assumed to be true.
It's a no win situation when you are dealing with a political sociopath.
Source: www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8434400
-----
Related posting: www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4921648
-----
Re: Why is Alderman Peter Sullivan able to get away with slandering me?
After I have complained and complained and complained again to the City of Manchester, NH about Alderman Peter Sullivan's harassment and slandering of me, he still makes false accusations against me on Internet Blog postings. ...
-
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8434400
-
...Alderman Peter Sullivan falsely states: "(Jonathan) Melle is a mentally ill individual who is facing felony charges for assaulting a Manchester police officer with his car in 2007. I find it abhorent that (Joe) Levasseur would choose to exploit this disturbed man's condition in order to score political points."
First of all, I plead innocent to the abusive and lying police officer, John Cunningham's, fictitious story that defies the very laws of physics and is contradictory to the two witness statements. I NEVER ASSAULTED a Manchester police officer with my car! That is a lie!
Secondly, Alderman Peter Sullivan falsely states that I am a "disturbed man". I have never been clinically diagnosed as such, and I find his characterization of me to be ignorant and discriminatory.
Clearly Alderman Peter Sullivan is both harassing and slandering me. No one in Manchester City Government will stop him from his illegal and criminal actions against me. Both Alderman Peter Sullivan and the City of Manchester are liable to a costly civil suit in a state or federal court of law.
Why is Alderman Peter Sullivan able to get away with slandering me? Are Mayor Frank Guinta and the other 13 Aldermen willing to pay money in a lawsuit insteading taking the proper measures to stop an Officer of the City of Manchester from such illegal actions?
I want Alderman Peter Sullivan to stop harassing and slandering me!
Sincerely,
Jonathan A. Melle
-----
Re: Alderman Peter Sullivan's response! He is NOT sorry!
From: "Sullivan,Peter" PSullivan@ci.manchester.nh.us
To: jonathan_a_melle@yahoo.com
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 8:52 AM
RE: Why is Alderman Peter Sullivan able to get away with slandering me?
Mr. Melle,
Since you are no longer a constituent, I ask that you cease all further communication with me.
Over the last few weeks, you have repeatedly emailed me with this sort of message, and you have evidently been searching for my posts on internet discussion boards as well. It's time to move on, Jonathan.
While I understand that you are wrestling with your own personal issues, sending me angry and inflammatory messages over and over again will not improve your situation. You are in need of professional mental health assistance, and that is something that I can not provide. There are a number of providers in the Manchester and Nashua areas who can assist you, so I suggest that you focus your time and energy on obtaining appropriate treatment.
Respectfully,
Peter M. Sullivan
Alderman, Ward 3
-----
Wednesday January-21-2009, 12:37 AM
Original message
The article would have you believe that this was a two-way shouting match. It was not. Mr. Levasseur launched a series of off the wall and occasionally incoherent accusations. I chose to respond by stepping down from my seat at the aldermanic platform as a private citizen. I'm not sure why Scott Brooks sees this as "bizarre". In most bodies, it is actually proper protocol to do so.
Mr. Levasseur has been using Jonathan Melle to goad me. Melle is a mentally ill individual who is facing felony charges for assaulting a Manchester police officer with his car in 2007. I find it abhorent that Levasseur would choose to exploit this disturbed man's condition in order to score political points.
In addition, Levasseur has not limited his attacks to my performance as alderman. he has threatened to obtain my medical records and make an issue out of my having been treated for depression. He has made utterly vile comments about my wife. he has attacked my friends. I'm not talking about a couple of emails; I am talking about 70 or so, not counting innumerable blog posts under various names.
I know that many people here are familiar with Levasseur's antics, but there are people who will see this and draw the wrong conclusion. Sadly, I am in a position where my good name is doomed no matter what I do. If I confront Levasseur, I am engaging in "shouting mathces". If I ignore him, his slurs go uncorrected and are assumed to be true.
It's a no win situation when you are dealing with a political sociopath.
Source: www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8434400
-----
Related posting: www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4921648
-----
Re: Why is Alderman Peter Sullivan able to get away with slandering me?
After I have complained and complained and complained again to the City of Manchester, NH about Alderman Peter Sullivan's harassment and slandering of me, he still makes false accusations against me on Internet Blog postings. ...
-
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8434400
-
...Alderman Peter Sullivan falsely states: "(Jonathan) Melle is a mentally ill individual who is facing felony charges for assaulting a Manchester police officer with his car in 2007. I find it abhorent that (Joe) Levasseur would choose to exploit this disturbed man's condition in order to score political points."
First of all, I plead innocent to the abusive and lying police officer, John Cunningham's, fictitious story that defies the very laws of physics and is contradictory to the two witness statements. I NEVER ASSAULTED a Manchester police officer with my car! That is a lie!
Secondly, Alderman Peter Sullivan falsely states that I am a "disturbed man". I have never been clinically diagnosed as such, and I find his characterization of me to be ignorant and discriminatory.
Clearly Alderman Peter Sullivan is both harassing and slandering me. No one in Manchester City Government will stop him from his illegal and criminal actions against me. Both Alderman Peter Sullivan and the City of Manchester are liable to a costly civil suit in a state or federal court of law.
Why is Alderman Peter Sullivan able to get away with slandering me? Are Mayor Frank Guinta and the other 13 Aldermen willing to pay money in a lawsuit insteading taking the proper measures to stop an Officer of the City of Manchester from such illegal actions?
I want Alderman Peter Sullivan to stop harassing and slandering me!
Sincerely,
Jonathan A. Melle
-----
Re: Alderman Peter Sullivan's response! He is NOT sorry!
From: "Sullivan,Peter"
To: jonathan_a_melle@yahoo.com
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 8:52 AM
RE: Why is Alderman Peter Sullivan able to get away with slandering me?
Mr. Melle,
Since you are no longer a constituent, I ask that you cease all further communication with me.
Over the last few weeks, you have repeatedly emailed me with this sort of message, and you have evidently been searching for my posts on internet discussion boards as well. It's time to move on, Jonathan.
While I understand that you are wrestling with your own personal issues, sending me angry and inflammatory messages over and over again will not improve your situation. You are in need of professional mental health assistance, and that is something that I can not provide. There are a number of providers in the Manchester and Nashua areas who can assist you, so I suggest that you focus your time and energy on obtaining appropriate treatment.
Respectfully,
Peter M. Sullivan
Alderman, Ward 3
-----
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Peter Sullivan calls some of his fellow Aldermen: "ASSHOLES!"
-
-
The Manchester Express, January 26 - February 1, 2009, Volume 4, No. 5
After the meeting, several alderman and other public officials noted a crack in one of the walls inside the aldermanic suite. When asked by the [Manchester] Express about the crack, Acting City Clerk Matt Normand said it did not exist before last Tuesday’s meeting and that he had asked a custodian to repair it on Wednesday.
When asked about the crack, [Peter] Sullivan denied that he had caused it.
“That crack was there before; it was not mine,” [Peter] Sullivan said. “And if you print that you will be taken to task for it.
“I don’t know if it’s [Mike] Lopez or Mark Roy or any of those assholes [who told the Express about the crack], [Peter] Sullivan continued. “They have their own agenda, they want Pat Long elected.”
Neither alderman mentioned by Sullivan told the Express about the crack.
When asked about it, Lopez said everyone heard a bang when Sullivan went into the back room. He said he hadn’t noticed the crack before Tuesday. (Sullivan said the bang was him slamming a door.)
----------
"Who do you think you are, Alderman Sullivan?"
By ANDREW J. MANUSE, Manchester Express Columnist, February 2 - 8, 2009, Volume 4 No. 6
I understand from more than one source that Ward 3 Alderman Peter Sullivan has been going around town saying that I misquoted him in my Jan. 26, 2009 article “Under ‘Attack’.”
In that story, I describe a very unfortunate situation at City Hall among an elected official and two of his constituents, and after-the-fact comments from those involved in the incident.
I can assure you that in the preparation for writing an article that exposed an elected official, like mine did, I took every precaution (short of a tape recording) to ensure that every statement was precise, accurate and truthful.
I can assure you that the Union Leader representation of the truth was far less than precise, accurate and truthful. In particular, I note in reference to the crack in the wall that Alderman Sullivan allegedly created in the aldermanic suite, Reporter Scott Brooks describes it as “...a hairline crack on the wall near one of the windows, which one clerical worker described as about a foot long.”
It is clear from the photograph of the crack on Page 9 of last week’s Manchester Express that the structural damage is much thicker than “hairline” and much longer and more intricate than “a foot long.”
The statements presented in my article show that Mr. Sullivan is certainly suspect as the cause of the crack. His reaction, which I asked him to “repeat so I could quote it exactly,” would seem to suggest even more suspicion for any thinking person. Last week, a good source added more evidence, saying he discovered fresh “spackle dust” under the crack the day after the aldermanic meeting.
Outside the cracked wall at City Hall, it is clear from examining this situation that in Peter Sullivan we have an alderman who clearly feels he is above the law. It seems he feels like he can use his seat of power to intimidate those who criticize him into silence.
He speaks against his colleagues on the board without regard for civility and has no respect for his constituents.
Business owners in his ward accuse him of holding up their official requests and ordering boycotts against them in retaliation for their criticism.
For last week’s article, I spent most of my week speaking to everyone I could who witnessed the event at City Hall, and I presented the facts as best as I could. I can assure you that no personal opinion or agenda affected my writing, as readers should be able to note by our equally thorough coverage of Joe Levasseur and Jonathan Melle.
It’s unfortunate that Sullivan doesn’t seem to understand the goals of journalism, and instead is stooping to question my veracity.
If this alderman keeps denying hard facts while continuing the same actions he is accused of, perhaps it is time for him to resign. He is responsible for taxpayers’ money, after all. Can his constituents trust him to make the right call?
-
Andrew J. Manuse is editor of the Manchester Express.
-
----------
-
The Manchester Express, January 26 - February 1, 2009, Volume 4, No. 5
After the meeting, several alderman and other public officials noted a crack in one of the walls inside the aldermanic suite. When asked by the [Manchester] Express about the crack, Acting City Clerk Matt Normand said it did not exist before last Tuesday’s meeting and that he had asked a custodian to repair it on Wednesday.
When asked about the crack, [Peter] Sullivan denied that he had caused it.
“That crack was there before; it was not mine,” [Peter] Sullivan said. “And if you print that you will be taken to task for it.
“I don’t know if it’s [Mike] Lopez or Mark Roy or any of those assholes [who told the Express about the crack], [Peter] Sullivan continued. “They have their own agenda, they want Pat Long elected.”
Neither alderman mentioned by Sullivan told the Express about the crack.
When asked about it, Lopez said everyone heard a bang when Sullivan went into the back room. He said he hadn’t noticed the crack before Tuesday. (Sullivan said the bang was him slamming a door.)
----------
"Who do you think you are, Alderman Sullivan?"
By ANDREW J. MANUSE, Manchester Express Columnist, February 2 - 8, 2009, Volume 4 No. 6
I understand from more than one source that Ward 3 Alderman Peter Sullivan has been going around town saying that I misquoted him in my Jan. 26, 2009 article “Under ‘Attack’.”
In that story, I describe a very unfortunate situation at City Hall among an elected official and two of his constituents, and after-the-fact comments from those involved in the incident.
I can assure you that in the preparation for writing an article that exposed an elected official, like mine did, I took every precaution (short of a tape recording) to ensure that every statement was precise, accurate and truthful.
I can assure you that the Union Leader representation of the truth was far less than precise, accurate and truthful. In particular, I note in reference to the crack in the wall that Alderman Sullivan allegedly created in the aldermanic suite, Reporter Scott Brooks describes it as “...a hairline crack on the wall near one of the windows, which one clerical worker described as about a foot long.”
It is clear from the photograph of the crack on Page 9 of last week’s Manchester Express that the structural damage is much thicker than “hairline” and much longer and more intricate than “a foot long.”
The statements presented in my article show that Mr. Sullivan is certainly suspect as the cause of the crack. His reaction, which I asked him to “repeat so I could quote it exactly,” would seem to suggest even more suspicion for any thinking person. Last week, a good source added more evidence, saying he discovered fresh “spackle dust” under the crack the day after the aldermanic meeting.
Outside the cracked wall at City Hall, it is clear from examining this situation that in Peter Sullivan we have an alderman who clearly feels he is above the law. It seems he feels like he can use his seat of power to intimidate those who criticize him into silence.
He speaks against his colleagues on the board without regard for civility and has no respect for his constituents.
Business owners in his ward accuse him of holding up their official requests and ordering boycotts against them in retaliation for their criticism.
For last week’s article, I spent most of my week speaking to everyone I could who witnessed the event at City Hall, and I presented the facts as best as I could. I can assure you that no personal opinion or agenda affected my writing, as readers should be able to note by our equally thorough coverage of Joe Levasseur and Jonathan Melle.
It’s unfortunate that Sullivan doesn’t seem to understand the goals of journalism, and instead is stooping to question my veracity.
If this alderman keeps denying hard facts while continuing the same actions he is accused of, perhaps it is time for him to resign. He is responsible for taxpayers’ money, after all. Can his constituents trust him to make the right call?
-
Andrew J. Manuse is editor of the Manchester Express.
-
----------
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
