MANCHESTER, NH — During last week’s relatively brief Board of Aldermen meeting Mayor Joyce Craig was running through some new business when she mentioned a pizza promotion that could save the city $5,000 on pothole repair.
Domino’s Pizza chain launched a Paving for Pizza promotion site last year. The cities with the most votes get a $5,000 grant toward paving potholes. The gimmick, of course, is that potholes have potential to wreck your pizza in the time it takes to move it from Domino’s to your pad.
But in the big picture, it’s a way to get some positive PR for Domino’s and spread goodwill – along with some asphalt – in cities across America, particularly with municipal budgets stretched thin.
Not to be negative, but Alderman Joe Levasseur questioned whether having a pizza chain pave city potholes would piss-off city workers, who are union members.
The idea actually was submitted for consideration by a member of the city’s Public Works Department, Craig clarified.
Levasseur posted something about the proposed pothole promotion via his Facebook page, providing a platform for Ward 12 Alderman Keith Hirschmann to poke at the mayor’s pitch:
“I can’t believe she would invite a pizza shop to work on our roads,” Hirschmann wrote on social media. “Our Highway Department is really hard working and battling everyday to maintain our roads. This is silly time leadership by Joyce. This is sophomoric on her part.”
No coincidence that Hirschmann, a Republican, is considering a run for mayor in the upcoming 2019 election, and used the pothole promotion to be a Paving for Pizza party-pooper while putting down the mayor personally in what sounds a lot like campaign rhetoric.
Perhaps before Hirschmann and Levasseur pick on the mayor or poo-poo the promotion they should get the facts straight.
Pizza guys aren’t patching potholes.
Fact check: According to Domino’s Director of Public Relations Jenny Fouracre-Petko, Domino’s hands over the $5,000 and the city does the work – the only catch is that potholes paid for by the pizza company be marked as such with a spray-painted emblem. Domino’s provides the template.
Testimonials from cities already paid for potholes are piling praise on the promotion.
Due to the prevalence of potholes and popularity of the Paving for Pizza promotion, the company has extended the deadline for nominations to Feb. 3. And since only one city per state will be selected, it’s up to city residents to nominate Manchester. It’s a simple process, and includes submitting your email address (for updates) and zip code, for the win.
⇒Click here to nominate Manchester now.
⇒RELATED STORY: Use the city’s Manchester Connect App to report a pothole and create an automatic work order
- Learn the how and why of potholes, and the science behind filling them properly
- Link to a download for the city’s Manchester NH Connect App