Welcome to Lessons In Mediocrity!
After leaving my post as the editor of the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier in 2006, I found myself missing writing about the political machinations taking place in my hometown of Biddeford, Maine.
In 2011, I helped my friend Alan Casavant and served as his campaign manager in order to oust a popular two-term incumbent. We won that race with a 63 percent margin. A few months later, I was hired by the owners of the controversial MERC waste-to-energy incinerator that was located in the center of Biddeford’s downtown area. Casella Waste System was ready to sell the plant and walk away. I was hired to develop messaging that would support a city buy-out of the facility.
A few months later, our hard work paid off, and the Biddeford City Council voted 8-1 to purchase and close the privately owned facility.
And then, a short while later, I was hired to help supporters of the Biddeford Airport fight a local referendum that sought to permanently close the small, single-runway airport (B-19). We won that election, capturing more than 80 percent of the vote.
A BLOG IS LAUNCHED
Later that same year, I created this site — originally named after my weekly newspaper column, All Along the Watchtower — to help me keep my finger on the pulse of my community’s political tussles.
In 2017, I left my job as a senior associate at Barton & Gingold and launched my own strategic communication and public policy consulting firm, Randy Seaver Consulting. This site was again renamed.
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Today, I still do sub-contracting for several firms throughout New England and maintain a select cadre of my own clients, but I am no longer actively marketing in search of new business opportunities.
In 2022, I was approached by the publisher of Saco Bay News to begin some local freelance news and feature reporting. I continued that gig for another two years until I decided that something had to be done about our city manager and his arrogant mismanagement of our city.
TAKING ON THE CITY MANAGER | I finished my gig at Saco Bay News and created a special section on this site called THE BENNETT FILES. I used that leverage and my local political connections to begin a coordinated and grassroots campaign to remove Jim Bennett from his office. It took me less than 90 days. Bennett knew his back was against the wall. He had no choice. He announced his pending departure during an Oct. 14, 2024 City Council meeting.
Though the arrogant bastard tried to spin it as a “planned and phased retirement,” he left several months remaining on his contract and walked away from the ability to collect a $15,000 retention bonus. His ten-year reign of terror and intimidation in Biddeford was finally over. We’re still picking up the pieces and trying to reconcile mismanaged financial records
In fact, two months before he was scheduled to complete his “phased retirement,” the city finally found the courage and wisdom to give him the boot. Jim Bennett — who has drifted like a herd of locusts from town to town throughout Maine over the last 40 years — had finally found his match. He was shown the door and forced to turn in his keys on Feb. 20, 2025 — a day of joyous celebration in Biddeford.
A NEW IDEA AND APPROACH TO COMMUNITY NEWS REPORTING | Just a few weeks after Bennett announced his pending departure, I decided to launch my own non-profit media endeavor. I decided it was time for Biddeford to have its own dedicated, professional news source. I envisioned a collaborative and embedded approach to local news reporting.
The new venture was almost immediately embraced by the community, a city nearly starved of local news coverage by the Portland-based daily newspaper. The Biddeford Gazette was started here but was then moved to its own site on Jan. 14, 2025.
Who knows what’s next?
LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY | OUTLAW JOURNALIST 