(Michael Graham) – Pickle Gate is no longer a political side dish.
The story that’s inspired a thousand puns has now sparked a serious debate about government overreach, food freedom, and the limits of municipal power. State lawmakers are preparing pro-pickle legislation, and the chairman of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) is demanding answers from city agencies.
As NHJournal first reported, the Manchester Department of Public Health sent local resident Daniel Mowery a cease-and-desist letter over a social media post in which he offered to sell a jar of his homemade pickles. The letter warned that continued sales could result in fines, court summonses, or other enforcement actions.
When BMA Chair Joe Kelly Levasseur suggested the state’s Homestead License exemption allowed Mowery to distribute his pickles, the city pushed back, insisting it had the power to regulate homemade goods.
“State exemptions do not preempt municipal authority to enact local regulations,” said Manchester Health Director Anna Thomas, adding that distributing homemade pickles falls under her jurisdiction.
That position has drawn sharp criticism from local lawmakers and residents, who see the crackdown as government intrusion into a cherished tradition of neighborly sharing.
Republican members of Manchester’s State House delegation have rallied behind Mowery, blasting the city’s enforcement efforts as excessive.
“This is a textbook case of government overreach,” said Rep. Kathleen Paquette, noting that Granite Staters pride themselves on self-reliance. “No one should be punished for sharing a jar of pickles.”
In a statement signed by 10 Manchester House Republicans, the legislators said they will introduce a bill clarifying municipal authority. “To prevent similar abuses, Manchester Republicans are sponsoring legislation to clarify and limit municipal authority to those powers specifically granted under state law—such as regulating streets, sidewalks, cemeteries, public safety, and business licensing,” they wrote.
“This legislation restores balance,” Paquette added. “Local officials shouldn’t invent new authority to micromanage daily life. Clearly, the City of Manchester took this too far.”
Meanwhile, Levasseur has written City Clerk Matthew Normand, criticizing the city’s actions and demanding that Manchester align its ordinances with state law.
“The outrage the cease-and-desist letter caused not only in Manchester and throughout New Hampshire, but in other states as well, is overwhelming,” Levasseur wrote. “Manchester residents should not have to live in constant fear that the city Health Department is watching their social media posts.”
Levasseur argued that requiring home cooks to install costly commercial-grade kitchens to produce pickles, pies, or cookies is unreasonable. “All this just for the love of cooking and making non-processed foods,” he wrote.
His letter ended with a plea: “This is the Live Free or Die state! … Leave our pickles alone!”
Thomas, for her part, has defended the department’s handling of the case. “The City of Manchester Health Department receives approximately 100–150 food safety complaints from the public annually and investigates each one,” she said. “We follow our standard protocol to conduct investigations and verify the validity of each complaint.”
In response, Levasseur has written Thomas requesting copies of similar letters sent to other Manchester residents over the past five years.
Mayor Jay Ruais has not publicly addressed the controversy, but a source close to the mayor told NHJournal on background, “This public health ordinance was ordained six decades ago, and the Mayor has been working with multiple departments to identify a balance on all homesteading activities. He looks forward to the next Board meeting on September 2nd.”
Mowery, whose homemade pickles are at the center of the controversy, said he is glad state lawmakers are stepping in.
“This sounds perfectly reasonable to me,” he told NHJournal. “I’m surprised the original statute wasn’t worded this way to begin with. This amendment should help prevent this situation from happening to others in the future. Thanks to the Manchester delegation for righting this wrong.”
Michael Graham is Managing Editor of InsideSources.com, where this article was originally published on 8/21/25. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
