Former mayor, state representative and city councilor Joanne Twomey announced Sunday that she would seek a return to the Maine House of Representatives.
At the Biddeford Democratic caucus, Twomey told a sparse group of fellow Democrats that Dist. 135 needs a “real” Democrat to stand up to Republicans in Augusta.
Twomey also said that she encouraged Rep. Paulette Beaudoin to seek the Dist. 135 seat four years ago, but decided that Beaudoin was either unwilling or unable to stand up to Republicans and should be replaced.
Funny thing is: Twomey was not worried about Beaudoin’s performance until she lost her re-election bid for the mayor’s seat. Now Twomey needs a job. Now she is ready to fight Republicans and Democrats and anyone else who gets between her and her need for health insurance at taxpayer expense.
A video from the Biddeford-Saco Courier:
Joanne likes to talk about her “no-compromise/principled” position.
But does that hold water?
1,) The woman who once bemoaned the idea of a casino in Biddeford — testifying before the Biddeford City Council in 2003 by saying — “In my Christmas village, there is no casino,” suddenly flipped when she got herself into a budget pinch, and she quickly became a cheerleader for a proposed casino. Principled? Really?
2.) The woman who built her political career on the backs of criticizing the owners of the MERC facility was giving them hugs in front of news cameras just two weeks before the 2009 mayoral election.
Just a few weeks later, after winning re-election as mayor, Twomey once again reversed her position. Principled? Really?
3.) On Sunday, during Biddeford’s Democratic caucus, Twomey said she encouraged State Rep. Paulette Beaudoin to run for the legislative seat that Twomey held until term limits forced her out in 2006. Now, Twomey says the people of District 135 need a “real” Democrat.
For such a principled person who professes to believe in the people, Twomey does not hesitate to play political hardball, but her victim routine is wearing thin.
It’s probably why Biddeford voters threw her out of office by an overwhelming margin in November. You can only fool people for so long.
But there’s also another reason Twomey lost by a 62-38 margin: She did very little campaigning.
Maybe she was overly confident. Maybe she was tired. Maybe she thought the city’s strong support for a proposed racino would ensure her easy re-election.
Twomey is a political quaqmire. On the one hand, she is a savvy politician. On the other, she is ruled by her emotions.
But this time, it looks like she is in this campaign to win. She’s accepting help from Ryan Fecteau, an eager beaver youngster with a solid grasp of 21st Century campaign techniques.
Twomey will likely do well in the Democratic primary against Beaudoin, a post-70-year-old woman who isn’t much of a campaigner and has never been challenged by her own party.
Former Biddeford City Councilor Perry Aberle, a man who describes himself as a “friend of Joanne,” is considering running as a Republican in District 135. If Twomey wins the Democratic Primary on June 12, Aberle will have his work cut out for him.
As I predicted on November 8, 2011, Joanne Twomey is far from done in Biddeford politics.
LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY 
Not so much…the two sparred for the State Senate seat that Sullivan won in 2004. Then again, Sullivan was one of the only Biddeford legislators to stand with Twomey on the proposed racino. Still, I would not exactly pair them, if you get my drift
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Spot on, Randy. Joanne considers herself a hero of the oppressed when, in fact, she is an oppressor of heros, people who produce and achieve.
I remain convinced that peole who spend their lives seeking power over others are corrupt and unprincipled. Twomey is a prime example.
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Thank you, Fred!
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For the record, there is no way for a comment to be retrieved, if it had been deleted. Furthermore, the only persons with access to the Facebook page are myself and the candidate. The candidate’s Internet access was shutdown yesterday as result of the happenings at xpressamerica. The comment was simply never deleted. I would venture to guess that you did not filter the news feed of the page correctly… clicking that “everyone” tab is extremely important!
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Ok, I will concede an amend the post. I am glad that the candidate will allow questions and critique. This is a sign of true democracy: when ALL opinions are considered and weighed.
That said, I am curious why neither Ryan nor “anonymous” has addressed the other points of the post: Joanne Twomey’s constant shifting of principles.
I have no problem with politicians acting political, but I do take exception to candidates who profess to be one thing and act like another. In my opinion, Joanne cares more about her self than any cause or supposed principle.
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As a matter of FACT, my mother in law, was a customer of Express America, and she along with many others, was WITHOUT internet on that day and continues to be offline. Interesting how she could have deleted a comment, unworthy as it is, while she is OFFLINE? Hmmmmm?
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Unfortunately, this article includes as its premise a complete lie. The comment posted by All Along The Watchtower still exists on the “Twomey for 135” Facebook page. While opinion and political pieces from All Along the Watchtower often offer a good opportunity for folks to indulge in coverage not typically offered by any local news sources, pieces like this diminish the quality when the opinion becomes so tremendously polarized and cemented in something that is simply not true.
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I attached an editor’s note to the above post to address Mr. Fecteau’s concerns.
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