Jennifer Chateauneuf
75 Hillview Drive
Holyoke, MA 01040
February 1, 2016
Honorable Mayor Alex B. Morse
Holyoke City Hall
536 Dwight Street
Holyoke, MA 01040
Dear Mayor Morse:
I write to you today to demand that James Bickford be removed from his appointed Holyoke
governmental positions. He serves on the Holyoke Local Cultural Council, the Cable Advisory Committee,
and the Holyoke Creative Arts Center.
Mr. Bickford has admitted at hearings in the Holyoke District Court that he posted multiple emails and
pictures under a pseudonym “Pronoblem Francis Baalberith” to the Nick’s Nest Facebook page and
directed towards me. Nick’s Nest is the business | own with my husband. An emergency harassment
prevention order was granted by a Justice of the Holyoke District Court for him to have no contact with
ime and to stay away from our business. The extension was subsequently denied by another Judge after
another hearing.
Mr. Bickford began sending me an email stating his opposition to my political stance on an issue before
the Holyoke City Council. His postings quickly changed well beyond political discourse. He then posted
pictures with captions of a sexually deviant and malicious nature. | have attached these posts for your
review.
The following are Mr. Bickford’s posts to the Nick’s Nest Facebook page:
1. Ayoung boy with a grimaced face surrounded by hot dogs (9/29/15),
2, Hot dogs with a caption “Vote Chateauneuf” (9/30/15).
3. Ahot dog that looks like a penis in the mouth of juke box (10/21/15),
4. Hot dogs with a description of hot dogs being invented by pig buttholes being dropped into a dick
shaper machine (11/16/15),
5. A video post (vine) of a hot dog being inserted in and out of a face. A closeup photo is attached
that shows it actually going into a mouth (11/16/15).
Asan elected City Councilor, citizens have the right to disagree with my positions and | welcome open
dialogue and different viewpoints. Free speech is one thing. These posts however cross the line again
‘and again by their malicious nature with no political content. | was so disturbed and worried about my
personal safety that | acquired pepper spray.
Yet, what | ask you to take specific note of is Mr. Bickford's intentional postings on our business website,
My husband and | run a longtime Holyoke business that caters to families. Nick’s Nest is an icotbusiness famous for its hot dogs. This business caters to families and children. | was forced to constantly
review our Facebook page every hour and remove these items after they were posted so that children
and parents would not see such horrendous pictures when accessing our web page. | do not know what
damage these postings have caused to our business reputation or what the exact loss of revenue has
been. But the bottom line is that a person who is appointed by the City to serve on boards must not be
allowed to wreak such personal and professional damage on a Holyoke family and business.
| am proud to run a business in and raise my family in the City of Holyoke. | further believe that we in
City Government should be creating a welcome and supportive atmosphere for businesses and families.
Mr. Bickford should not be serving the City while conducting himself in such an abhorrent way. I call on
you as the appointing authority to remove Mr. Bickford from his appointed positions immediately.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Chateauneuf