Street fighting man

Some guys will do just about anything for attention. Such is the case with Biddeford City Councilor David Flood, the representative from Ward Seven who has returned to the council after a two-year sabbatical studying gymnastics.

Those who follow local politics closely may remember that Flood made a run against Joanne Twomey for the mayor’s seat two years ago.

Flood’s mayoral race did not go so well, so he went back to the drawing board and began drafting the core elements of his “Plan B” to rule Biddeford: A stealth plan to quietly buy every single building on Main Street not already owned by Doug Sanford.

I probably know Flood better than I know most of the other councilors, and I don’t know him that well.

David and his wife, Carolyn, owned and operated Mainely Newspapers, Inc., the former parent company of the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier and several other weekly newspapers.

In all likelihood, you would not be reading this if not for David Flood, who made the tragic mistake of hiring me in 1998 and then naming me as the Courier’s editor in 1999.

So if you hate me or the stuff I write, go ahead and kick David. It’s not my fault.

If not for David Flood, I would not have the job I have today. I would not be married to Laura, and I would not live in the house where I am writing this. All of those things came about through the connections I made while working at the Courier.

David is not just my city councilor, he’s also my neighbor. You’ve probably seen postcards of his May Street home, which is often mistaken for the U.S. Embassy building in the Dominican Republic.

During my seven-year tenure at the Courier, Flood missed several key opportunities to fire me. Let’s put it this way, I often pushed the envelope of employee-employer relationship protocols as far as they could be pushed.

I think there are only two reasons that David didn’t fire me as frequently requested by folks such as then State Rep. Joanne Twomey, former Mayor Jim Grattelo and a slew of others who all shared a common hatred of yours truly:

1.) I worked almost as hard as David Flood, the hardest-working man I have ever met; and

2.) We both loved the Courier and its mission to be the best local newspaper possible.

David has been involved in re-energizing downtown Biddeford for a long time, way before it was fashionable, hip or cool to promote the city’s downtown.

But here’s some trivia you may not know about David Flood:

• He was a standout wrestler in high school and once challenged me to a wrestling match, boasting that he could pin me in less than a minute. (True story, and I declined the challenge because he had a weird look in his eyes when he said it.
• He really likes turtles (also true)
• He actually thought Joe Biden would be a good president (Delaware boys stick together)
• He loves baseball almost as much as he loves newspapers.

David is also on Facebook. So let’s see what we can find there, eh?

He has 229 Facebook friends, roughly .01% as many “friends” as Mayor Alan Casavant .(Who says social media doesn’t work?)

One of his favorite TV shows? Family Guy

His only interest/pastime? Guinness…okay, he’s Irish.

Of the other eight city councilors, only Brad “Cub Scout” Cote is listed as a “friend” on Flood’s Facebook page (as of today)

So, here’s the tricky part: What should his Delta Chi name be?

After much thought and consideration, not to mention input from the All Along the Watchtower staff…..

David, your Delta Chi name is “Armadillo”