MANCHESTER, N.H. – A proposed change of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s (BMA) rules that could ban banners and signs from the Aldermanic Chamber heads to committee after a 9-5 vote on Tuesday night.
The motion was made by BMA Chair Joseph Kelly Levasseur, asking that Rule 3 of the BMA Rules be amended to prohibit the use of banners, flags, signs or other items that may create a security concern or obstruct the view of other members of the public or disrupt other members of the public within the Aldermanic Chamber.
Levasseur was disrupted during the motion by an individual in support of a resolution for a cease fire in Gaza, with Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais noting that the board had shown remarkable courtesy to that individual during his frequent disruptions throughout the evening.
Earlier this month, Levasseur made a motion to declare that any such resolution would not be germane to city business, which passed on a voice vote. Regardless, other supporters of the resolution spoke during public comment to chastise the board for that vote earlier this month, with Levasseur at one point waving a small Israeli flag during their comments.
Supporters of the resolution have appeared at several BMA meetings in recent months asking for the resolution and on Tuesday they returned once again with Palestinian flags and banners demanding an immediate cease fire in the Israeli/Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Several members of the board felt that the motion was not necessary as the banners on Tuesday night had not caused a security concern up to that point. Ward 4 Alderwoman Christine Fajardo agreed, although voiced concern that any banners or flags blocking railing could potentially be viewed as a safety concern.
“We’re naïve to think that something couldn’t happen here,” she said.
Ward 7 Alderman Ross Terrio expressed concerns about first amendment issues and asked that the matter be referred to the BMA Committee on Administration and Information Systems.
Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza disagreed, feeling that sending the issue to committee would be tantamount to killing it, also arguing that City Solicitor Emily Rice would be unlikely to provide any legal guidance on the constitutionality of the rule change.
A motion to immediately amend Rule 3 failed on a 5-7 vote, with Levasseur and Sapienza joined by Norm Vincent (Ward 11), Chris Morgan (Ward 1) and Crissy Kantor (Ward 6). Kelly Thomas (Ward 12) and Pat Long (Ward 3) abstained during the vote since it was made during the New Business section of the meeting and thus Long said he had not been given time to research the motion, a reason Thomas retroactively agreed was the reasoning for her vote.
The 9-5 vote to send the matter to committee passed with opposition from Fajardo, Anthony Sapienza (Ward 5), Dan O’Neil (At-Large), Jim Burkush (Ward 9) and Bill Barry (Ward 10).
