Critics of the Republican Party often say the GOP is the party of old, white men: a diminishing demographic in a nation with increasing diversity.
Although I am hesitant to generalize the Republican Party, I can say with confidence that the Biddeford City Council is more white than the Academy Awards or the snow that is piled six-feet high in my front yard.
Furthermore, the council is completely dominated by testosterone-driven men.
You would be hard-pressed to say that the current council truly represents a city that is one of the most diverse communities in southern Maine.
A couple of weeks ago, City Councilor Brad Cote abruptly resigned from the good ol’ boys club.
Thus, Mayor Alan Casavant (another old, white guy) now has a unique opportunity to help diversify the council. By mid-March, Casavant is expected to nominate a replacement for Cote.
From there, the old, white guys on the city council will vote on whether to approve or reject Casavant’s nomination.
Casavant is limited. He must pick a replacement from Ward 3, one of the city’s more affluent neighborhoods (although it has nothing on Ward One, which includes Biddeford Pool and Fortunes Rocks).
But there are plenty of qualified women residing in Ward Three. Off the top of my head, I think of Bonnie Pothier, a former mayor. That said, Casavant told me Pothier has work commitments that preclude her from serving.
Or how about Carrie Varney Pelletier, an outspoken conservative who does not hesitate to offer her views on social media?
Or maybe Valerie Pelletier, who previously served on the airport commission and like Cote had misgivings about the airport?
The point is that the current council could benefit from a woman’s perspective. Women tend to see challenges from a more global viewpoint versus the linear approach of their male counterparts.
There are many fine women in Biddeford (I know because I’m married to one).
The trick for Casavant is finding one who lives in Ward Three and wouldn’t mind spending a lot of time with a lot of old white men.
Signed me,
Another old white guy.
LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY 
While I agree with your view that this is indeed a unique opportunity to diversify, I might go a little further and add that the bold move would be to select someone who may be living on the lower end of the economic scale. I say this without denegration to any incumbent or future public servant. My point, rather, is that the dynamic representation of the Council should be a cross-section of citizens that represent equality in gender, race, age and economic scale (maybe even a couple of other variables). I find every member of the current council to be exceptionally qualified to serve. However, when I look at it as a whole, and through no fault of their own, they just don’t really look like a fair representatoon of my city. That’s a problem. It feeds into this “us versus them” condition that not many people talk about or address to any real depth. So, economic scale is an important variable here because the plight of those on the lower end do not appear to have fair representation or at least a representative voice on how very real the impacts of taxes, education, and services are on those who can least afford them when the price tags are too exhorbitant.
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