To the editor: Poitras and Keller weren’t attacking a candidate, they were attacking his wife
The Chester Telegraph | Feb 27, 2026 | Comments 4
The content in question involves legal, consensual activity between adults. The content Poitras and Keller shared without consent exists behind a paid platform called OnlyFans, which requires contractual agreement and payment to access and is restricted from minors through several security steps.
Accessing this content required Mr. Keller and Mr. Poitras to intentionally seek out the content, provide payment, and give their agreement to clear terms and conditions. Mr. Keller and Mr. Poitras then made another deliberate choice to violate those terms and conditions by recording and publicly distributing someone’s private, protected content.
This was an attempt by Mr. Poitras and Mr. Keller to weaponize what a woman chooses to do with her body. Considering John Keller’s public record of domestic assault, it comes as no surprise that Mr. Keller would be involved with another woman being violated.
History is filled with examples of women being shamed, exposed and disqualified from public life and community through sexual targeting and shaming. When men actively seek out a woman’s lawful private sexual expression and then broadcast it for political leverage, that is not about protecting children, public safety or defending community values. It is about humiliation. It is about power. It is about using a woman’s body as a weapon for personal gain.
You may decide that Mr. Bailey’s private life does not align with your expectations of someone in civic service. That is your right as a voter.
But let’s be clear: What Jesse Bailey and his wife engaged in is consensual, legal and private.
School board service is about governance, fiscal stewardship and student outcomes — not what consenting adults do legally in their private lives.
Please do not confuse deliberate public shaming with moral leadership. Do not mistake the exposure of a woman’s private autonomy as public service.
I stand against the violation of women’s bodies and I stand with women whose lawful private lives have been weaponized for someone else’s gain.
Anne Henshaw
Chester
Filed Under: Commentary • Letters to the Editor
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I agree with much said here except that this was aimed at his wife. This was 💯 aimed at disqualifying Mr Bailey from holding a position on the school board. Sadly, his wife, who I’ve come to know and really like has been collateral damage, in all this.
Ms. Henshaw’s articulate, insightful and compassionate letter is in stark contrast to the recent septic posts by Brattleboro Republican Hank Poitras and his troubled Chester GOP partner John Keller. While both men traffic in gutter politics Ms. Henshaw demonstrates how adults navigate personal attacks and mockery to point out the substance and humanity of the issue.
Fully agree with Anne and stand with Jessie and his family. I hope there is accountability for those who have violated the rights of Jessie’s wife.
I stand with Anne, Jesse Bailey annd his wife, and with any woman whose lawful private life is weaponized for political gain.
What happened here was not about policy, qualifications, or protecting community values. It was a deliberate choice to seek out paid, consent-based content between adults, violate its terms, and redistribute it publicly in an attempt to shame.
The activity in question was legal and consensual. Accessing it required intentional payment and agreement to platform rules. Sharing it without consent was another intentional act.
Public shaming is not moral leadership. Exploiting a woman’s autonomy for political leverage diminishes the quality of our civic life, regardless of party.
We can disagree on candidates and still agree that respect, consent, and integrity matter.
That standard should be bipartisan.
Aimee Parnell