For better or worse, I have a reputation in my hometown. I am the guy who holds local and state politicians’ feet to the fire. I rarely hesitate to publicly criticize elected officials when I think they have screwed up or acted inappropriately.
My column, All Along The Watchtower, debuted on the pages of the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier in 1999. Since then, it has appeared in other publications, most recently on the pages of Saco Bay News. I always tell people that I do not play favorites. I call ’em like I see ’em.
My column was based on the prolific work of syndicated columnist Art Buchwald and also well-known Maine columnist, Al Diamon, author of Politics and Other Mistakes
Well, folks — in the interest of fairness and full disclosure — I think that pendulum of criticism should swing both ways.
In this installment, we will focus on some of my bad (and rather outrageous) behavior over the last few days.
In short, I owe an apology to Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman and his family; and to City Council President Liam LaFountain.
I have tremendous respect for both Grohman and LaFountain, both of whom I just two weeks ago ranked among the top-five most influential public policy figures in the Biddeford-Saco area.
If you’ve been paying attention lately to Biddeford politics, you already know that things have more or less blown-up over the last couple of weeks.
Our municipal elections were held only six months ago. Longtime Biddeford mayor Alan Casavant opted not to seek a seventh consecutive term. Voters chose former city councilor and state representative Marty Grohman to take over the helm at City Hall. Grohman won that seat with a comfortable margin of 54 percent over former state senator Susan Deschambault.
In that same election, LaFountain was unopposed for a second term on the council, representing Ward 7 (my ward). A few weeks later, the city council voted 6-3 to name LaFountain as the new council president.
Biddeford was getting a fresh start; a new perspective. Sure, the city was — and is — facing several challenges, but there is also ample room for optimism. Biddeford’s storied reputation of political bickering and City Hall drama seemed to be fading fast. We were beginning a second decade of being a more positive and attractive community.
Biddeford, the sixth largest city in Maine, suddenly found itself in an enviable place as a destination for fine dining, a boutique hotel, pristine beaches, thriving business parks and easy access to state highways.
Things were looking up. Yes, we are struggling — as are many Maine communities — with affordable housing and a growing unhoused population, but overall, the future seemed bright,
And then bam! Two members of the city council each resigned within nine days of each other. Both men, reportedly, had brushes with local police. They both decided to step away. Then one of them said that he would be seeking a return in a special election that was triggered by his own resignation.
Wait! What?
I have been covering the city of Biddeford for the better part of the last 30 years. We were in some unchartered waters.
Sure, we’ve had councilors resign before, but never two at basically the same time. The timing of the resignations became an issue. One would require a special election, the other — coming just a few days later — would require an appointment by the mayor without the need for public input.
Grohman was caught off-guard. LaFountain was caught off-guard. I was caught off-guard. Strange stuff. Lots of moving parts. Lots of questions. What’s the intent of the city charter in these situations? The city clerk was scheduled to go on vacation. A brand-new deputy clerk just started her job last week.
Yes, many people reached out to me. Some passed on rumors that I ignored. Others provided valuable information. Others were simply flabbergasted and raising questions about how the resignations should be handled.
In Ward Five — the seat that will be appointed by the mayor — one of those seeking Grohman’s nomination is the son of his former political opponent.
Now, it’s not just Saco Bay News watching City Hall. Other media outlets are now reporting and paying attention to what is happening at Biddeford City Hall.
So how did I screw up in all of this?
Straight, No Chaser
For many years, I have publicly shared my personal struggles with mental health issues. I do this in order to reduce stigma and to be an advocate for others struggling with similar issues.
Let me be perfectly clear. My mental health issues are NOT and never have been an excuse for my stupid decisions. They do, however, provide a bit of context for what I am about to share.
I have a Bipolar-1 (manic-depressive) diagnosis, as well as severe anxiety and frequent bouts of schizoaffective disorder behaviors. Trust me. It can be challenging, especially for my wife and other family members. But it is NOT an excuse for my bad behavior last week.
Before the announcement of the city council resignations earlier this month, I was hard at work on three significant news stories. Sometimes, it takes weeks, even months, to put together significant news stories.
All three of these stories are connected to Biddeford City Hall. You’ll be reading about them in the near future. But the sudden and unexpected resignations threw a proverbial wrench into my workload.
Again, not an excuse for my boorish behavior, but mentioned here for context.
The journalism game can by hyper competitive. I have always been a competitive guy. The media industry is not a 9-5, Monday thru Friday gig.
Today, more than ever before, the media is a non-stop, 24-7 enterprise. We all want the story first. We all want your attention. Sure, we’re also doing a public service because we all basically believe in your right to timely, accurate and unfiltered information about your community but basically, we’re always competing.
In a recent blog post, I wrote “there is right way and a wrong way to resign from public office.”
Well, there is also a right way and wrong way to go about writing a news story. Last weekend, I chose the wrong way.
I almost literally had a meltdown while trying to obtain information about how the council vacancies would be handled. I was rude and belligerent. Sort of a “Do you know who I am?” moment of delusional grandeur.
I mean, really. I wasn’t working on the Pentagon Papers, the Watergate Scandal or the criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
Dude, it’s the weekend. Calm down, It’s a story about Biddeford City Hall intrigue, not the apocalypse. Get a grip.
On Friday, I called LaFountain, pressing for information. He was out of the country, but as always returned my call almost immediately with dignity and grace. He was also feeling pressure and doing his best to figure out the next right step. He was calm, respectful and doing his best to answer my questions.
I was acting in a complete opposite fashion. I wasn’t angry with him, but I found myself screaming into the phone, full of indignation, almost frothing at the mouth, my words laced with profanity. I was screaming and ranting about other people.
Liam was patient, thoughtful and respectful. He didn’t even try to interrupt my rant. I mumbled a half-assed apology for interrupting his vacation with my call. He actually thanked me for calling, said he understood my frustration and said I should call him back if I had more questions.
A few hours later, on Saturday morning I awoke with a proverbial hair across my ass. It’s 6:30 a.m. I am drinking coffee at my desk, muttering to myself. I’ll be damned if I am going to allow them to block the flow of public information, I tell myself. My blood pressure was soaring. They made a mistake of messing with a guy who buys ink by the barrel, I muttered.
My chest is puffed out now. My dog is begging for my attention, but I ignore her and instead begin crafting a story that I wanted to publish later that day. I wanted to have the news first. That was all that mattered to me.
It is now 7:45 a.m. Saturday. I send Mayor Grohman a terse text message. In essence, I tell him that it’s in his own best interest to call me back pronto. I am writing a story, with or without his input. At 8:17 a.m., I receive a text from the mayor. “I’ll email. Deadline?”
I hate text messages. It’s just so much easier to have a quick two-minute phone call, that way I can easily ask a follow-up question or for clarification. But whatever. You can’t really blame Grohman for being cautious with me. I have been acting like an arrogant prick for more than 72 hours. Grohman is smart. He’s probably pissed, most likely annoyed but he is responding on a Saturday morning.
I get the email from him with his official statement a few hours later. I then add fuel to the fire by sending him a series of pissy text messages. I ignored the fact that he was at a family function.
They say that all’s well that ends well. In this case, Marty and I had the opportunity to clear the air this week. He wasn’t his typical genial self. He was pissed and he (in a nice way) let me know that. I had to take it.
He was right. I was wrong. My judgement was clouded by my both my ego and my hyper-competitive nature. We got things squared away. We found a lot of common ground. Ultimately, we both want what is best for the city. We are both trying to stay ahead of a rather crazy curve of events.
I owe both Marty Grohman and Liam LaFountain a sincere apology for my belligerent behavior. They both acted much better than me, and I could stand to learn a valuable lesson from each of them.
Me Culpa.
Like, I said at the beginning: I call ’em, like I see ’em.
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