Category: All Along the Watchtower

Selected pieces from my newspaper column, All Along The Watchtower

Time Is On My Side

~ Randy Seaver ~ 4 Comments

I have some good news and some bad news to share with my friends and family who live in the Biddeford-Saco area.

Apparently, officials at both Thornton Academy and the University of New England are none too pleased with yours truly.

According to my sources, representatives from both institutions have reached out to the publisher of Saco Bay News, essentially telling her that it would probably be best if Randy Seaver didn’t write anymore stories or opinion columns about their respective institutions.

I was not included in those conversations, so I do not know exactly what was or was not said, but it strikes me as sort of the same vibe as when John Mitchell, President Nixon’s attorney general, threatened Katherine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, during the Watergate scandal in 1972.

Mitchell warned reporter Carl Bernstein (one of my heroes) “Katie Graham’s gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer if that’s published.”

Let’s pause here for a moment. I am not Carl Bernstein. Saco Bay News is not The Washington Post. And my stories are much, much less than microscopic when compared to historic stories such as Watergate or The Pentagon Papers.

I am just a semi-retired, overweight, underachieving, middle-aged, bald man with very few of his original teeth left and no college degree. (In fairness, Carl Bernstein also never earned a college degree).

So, if you stop and think about it, why should anyone at either Thornton Academy or the University of New England give a rat’s ass about anything I write? What are they afraid of?

I completely understand why Liz Gotthelf, the publisher of Saco Bay News, decided it would probably be best if I no longer covered stories about Thornton or UNE.

Saco Bay News is a one-woman operation. Liz has nowhere near the resources and muscle that Katherine Graham had during the Watergate scandal.

Consequently, you will not see any more stories on Saco Bay News about either Thornton Academy or the University of New England written by me.

It remains unclear whether either of those two distinguished organizations will allow anyone to write about them. Perhaps permission slips will be required in the future. Who knows?

I am crushed, and trying to work through my grief.

But in reality, and generally speaking, elitists have never responded well to my words and questions. So, I should have seen this coming.

A hazy shade of winter

To be honest and fair, I get why officials at Thornton Academy are pissed at me. While the news story I wrote about their ongoing negotiations with the city of Saco was quite objective and very balanced, I sort of eviscerated them a few days later in my latest column: A Campus Set Apart.

I knew that column would piss them off, and that idea delighted me. It is more than understandable why Thornton would throw a hissy-fit. I get it. I don’t blame them at all.

Thornton Academy’s main building (T.A. Photo)

That said, I wonder why John Lamb (Thornton’s PR guy) didn’t call me first. In fact, he never followed up with me. He has my number. My phone seems to be working. It strikes me as a chickenshit move.

In my world, if someone pisses you off or treats you unfairly, you respond to them directly. At least, that’s how real men solve their differences. I have zero respect for someone that complains about me behind my back.

Then again, we’re talking about Thornton Academy, so it’s par for the course.

All that aside, I own plenty of the blame here. In larger publications with more staff and resources, news stories are generated in the newsroom. Opinion pieces and editorials are kept separate and isolated from news reporters. There is an invisible, yet clear, wall between the editorial board and the newsroom.

I was trying to do both, and that’s a basic no-no, even if you try to be careful. You’re still blurring the lines.

But the University of New England’s complaints about me represent an entirely different animal.

Straight, No Chaser

Over the past several months, I have written three very comprehensive news stories about a new pier being proposed by the University of New England: Part One: City Manager Quashes Harbor Master Part Two: Controversy Surrounds UNE Pier Proposal; and Part Three: Biddeford May ‘Step Away’ From Review of UNE Pier Proposal.

In the days and weeks after my first two stories about the proposal were published at Saco Bay News, other media outlets — including the Portland Press Herald, WMTW-TV, WGME-TV and the Biddeford-Saco Courier – also picked up the story.

I put a lot of effort and time into those stories about the controversial pier proposal. My reporting was straight-up. I took great pains to be as objective and unbiased as possible.

In fact, I received accolades for my reporting on the issue from colleagues who work (or worked) for other media outlets.

But guess who didn’t call or e-mail me? That’s right, not a peep from the University of New England. And yes, they have my phone number. My email address is included at the bottom of every story I write.

Apparently, the University of New England could also use a good set of gently used balls.

So, what’s the good news?

Only hours after delivering a devastating blow to the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto reportedly said, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”

From my perspective, I have now been set free and unleashed from needing to worry about objectivity. I can now publicly criticize both Thornton Academy and UNE as much as I like.

The bad news for both Thornton Academy and UNE is that they have now poked the proverbial bear; a bear with nothing to lose, lots of time on its hands and a decent social media following in the local area.

Yes, the Japanese kicked our ass at Pearl Harbor, but I don’t think I need to remind you about how the United States responded.

Seriously, this feels like Christmas morning.

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A Campus Set Apart?

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

Originally published in Saco Bay News August 24, 2024

A Campus Set Apart

George Orwell once wrote “Journalism is printing what somebody else doesn’t want printed. Everything else is public relations.”

Since I have worked as both a journalist and as a public relations professional, I can tell you that quotation from Orwell often rings quite true, especially in a small town where some things are considered off-limits for pesky reporters.

Since this is a column about the city of Saco and Thornton Academy, and since I graduated from T.A., I lifted the title for this column from my senior year yearbook: “A Campus Set Apart.”

Sounds nice, doesn’t it? A Campus Set Apart. A distinguished honor, a trumpeting of high achievement.

But what I want to know is this: A campus set apart from what, exactly?

Let’s pause here for a moment for some very necessary disclosure: I graduated from Thornton Academy in 1982. My sister also graduated from T.A., as did my father and both of my aunts. In fact, my grandfather taught there briefly before teaching at Biddeford High School.

So, I know a little bit about Thornton Academy, its reputation and its history.

More disclosure, since we’re also talking about the city of Saco: My youngest step sister, Jodi MacPhail also graduated from Thornton and is today the mayor of Saco.

A Social Media Firestorm

Last week, just a day before Laura and I were set to leave for our annual trip to Moosehead Lake, I published what I thought was a rather innocuous news story regarding the ongoing contract negotiations between Saco and Thornton.

Although Thornton Academy is a private school, it has also served as Saco’s default high school for nearly 200 years. That’s quite a history.

But despite this long-standing relationship between the city and Thornton, and the fact that these negotiations happen every few years, there seems to be a fair amount of friction between the two parties.

I posted the story on the Biddeford-Saco Community Facebook page on Wednesday morning. Within just a couple of hours, the accusations and fervent defense of one side’s position went almost off the rails.

That Facebook post reached more than 2,000 viewers within the first 24 hours, and it generated more than 117 comments.

I was stunned by the commentary, the bulk of which was aimed at defending Thornton Academy and criticizing the city’s negotiating team.

Honestly, I expected the reverse. As someone who tracks local issues very closely, I wrongly assumed that Saco taxpayers would naturally align closer to the city’s negotiating position.

Then again, the city of Saco does not employ a public relations professional, but Thornton Academy does. And it appears to be money well spent.

Maybe I’m a cynic, but it appeared that Thornton Academy had rallied their troops and circled their wagons even before the story was published. Many of the commenters didn’t disclose their own connections to the private school, including teachers and other employees.

Commentary in support of Thornton Academy pummeled the opposition by a margin of close to 9-1.

Wow, I thought. I better be careful about what I write about Thornton, especially if I have the temerity to tackle some of the school’s beloved mythology.

 I was born in a small town

Sometimes it can be weird: being a reporter in a small town. Reporters are supposed to be objective and unbiased. Sometimes, it’s a bit tougher to accomplish those high ideals of journalism than it looks, especially when you bump into the people you write about at the grocery store or if your kids play on the same Little League team.

Simply questioning Thornton Academy or sympathizing with the city’s negotiating team feels almost treasonous to me. I am an alum, after all.

But unlike almost all of my 1982 classmates, I have a rather unique view of Thornton Academy.

It’s no secret that I was experiencing some difficulties during my teenage years. When things got too far out of control, my mother sent me to live with my uncle in West Peru. That transition happened just a few weeks into my sophomore year at Thornton.

Kids from the town of Peru were sent to Rumford High School, now Mountain Valley High School. I finished my sophomore year and then attended my entire junior year in Rumford.

But I begged my mother to let me return to Thornton so that I could graduate with all my “friends” from Saco before heading off to basic training in the U.S. Air Force.

In retrospect, I should have stayed at Rumford. I never really fit in at either Thornton or Rumford. It may surprise you – and I now find it quite ironic – that many kids from Rumford looked down their noses at kids from Peru. Imagine a snobby kid from Rumford. A contradiction of terms.

At least the undercurrents of elitism at Thornton were based on some measure of reality. But kids are kids, no matter where they go to school. Still, I was able to compare two high schools as a student of both.

Oh, the places you’ll go

The defense of Thornton on social media followed two very basic themes. 1.) Thornton Academy is a top-notch school, and 2.) Saco should just be grateful, stop asking questions and shut up. Thornton Academy, after all, is a private school. They answer to no one except their own self-appointed Board of Trustees, a virtual who’s who in Saco’s power structure.

But here’s one of the main rubbing points in this current negotiation: Saco representatives want just a bit of accountability and transparency from Thornton, including a proposal to have a city representative appointed as a non-voting member to the Board of Trustees.

Sounds reasonable, right?

Yeah, not so much. It was as if the city asked Thornton to change its name to Saco High School.

Make no mistake. The city of Saco is damned fortunate to have Thornton Academy as the primary option for all its public high school students.

But it should also be noted that Thornton Academy is also quite fortunate to have such a close relationship to the city, a steady, reliable and predictable source of income.

Many private schools struggle when the economy disrupts the ability of parents to pay private tuition costs. Thornton has a healthy buffer from those recession and inflationary woes: a buffer to the tune of more than $17 million per year in tuition costs from Saco taxpayers.

Furthermore, even though Thornton Academy can charge prime market tuition for its private students, it is still a non-profit entity and does not pay any property taxes on its acres and acres of manicured lawns and the several brick buildings that make up its campus; a campus set apart.

 Let’s make a deal

From all accounts, the ongoing negotiations between Saco and Thornton Academy are based upon something that both sides agree upon. Both Thornton and Saco ultimately want what is best for Saco kids.

In any negotiating situation, both sides have to come to the table in good faith. Both sides have to give a little and both sides have to get a little. Otherwise, it’s not negotiating. It’s blackmail.

But let’s remember something for all of the people bragging about the success of their kids who went to Thornton and later got into very good colleges and universities: not every kid is college bound.

In fact, several Thornton Academy students take vocational classes at the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology.

However, according to Saco City Attorney Tim Murphy (who also serves on Thornton’s Board of Trustees), use of the word ‘Biddeford” anywhere on Thornton’s campus is a felony offense that carries a minimum two-year prison term in the town of Dayton.

Relax, Tim Murphy never really said that.

All kidding aside, some Saco school kids also require special-ed services. Not every kid is college bound. Saco has a responsibility to advocate for ALL of its students, not just the college-bound students or the outstanding athletes.

Eight of the 11 private high schools in Maine provide all their students with free lunch, consistent with a new state law that requires all public schools to offer free lunch. Thornton is one of the three private schools that does not offer that option. Why?

Although private schools like Thornton are exempt from the new law, it creates a dividing line between the haves and the have nots. Remember high school? Now imagine being one of just a few kids who has to ask for a free lunch.

To their credit, Thornton has a policy to expand free lunch for any student within 260 percent of the federal poverty rate, but it still forces students and their parents to go through the humiliation of asking for financial help.

The city of Saco is not looking to “take over” a private high school with an exemplary reputation, but if I’m going to fork over $17 million for something you can bet your sweet ass that I’m going to want something in return.

For comparison purposes, the city of Biddeford has a contract with a private firm that handles repair, maintenance and operations of all its photocopiers. That annual contract is roughly $150,000 a year and includes the school department.

Biddeford’s contract with that private firm has more transparency and accountability for photocopiers than Saco has for all of its high school students.

If Thornton doesn’t want public accountability, then maybe it should stop taking public funds. Many private companies across the country have government contracts, but they also have to follow certain rules including accountability and transparency.

Bath Iron Works strikes me as an exceptional shipyard, but when the Senate Appropriations Committee comes sniffing around for accountability and transparency regarding federal contracts, you can bet that BIW doesn’t tell Sen. Angus King to go pound sand.

Thornton Academy: Myth, Legend or Reality?

On a final note, while Thornton certainly has the prettiest high school campus in southern Maine, how does it stack up against other high schools when it comes to things other than landscaping?

As I said previously, I went to Thornton and Rumford High School. I would be hard-pressed to come up with any objective measure of which school was better.

I was one of those college-prep kids. In my sophomore year at Rumford High School, we were studying the works of Marcus Aurelius – in Latin. English teacher Richard Mullins – one of my favorite high school teachers – required us to do a deep-dive into Orwell’s Animal Farm, requiring essays and research to critique that work’s inspiration: the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

Thornton also had amazing and dedicated faculty who pushed us hard. One of my favorites was Norman Trottier, who adamantly refused to let me drop French IV during my senior year so that I could just coast toward basic training.

Phil Curtis was such a passionate and dedicated teacher at Thornton. He was so incredibly patient and kind towards me, even though I barely understood the mathematical foundation of two-plus-two.

There were so many other fine teachers at both Rumford and Thornton. How do you objectively measure which school is better? You really can’t.

Public schools in Maine are required by law to publicly post their MEA (Maine Educational Assessment) scores.  Not Thornton.

So how do Saco taxpayers really know what they’re getting for their $17 million per year? Do taxpayers just have to blindly accept what the cheerleaders are screaming on the sidelines?

Maybe, but it would appear that there is also more than landscaping that “sets Thornton apart.” They also have a pretty good public relations department.

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Queer Eye From The Straight Guy

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

Originally published in Saco Bay News

It’s that time of year again. Summer is beckoning, and we will soon be celebrating Pride Month, an international observance celebrating members of the LGBTQ+ community during the month of June.

Right on cue, you can expect to see a lot of push-back about Pride Month on social media platforms such as Facebook, X and Instagram. Those lamenting the celebration of Pride Month will sing an all-too-familiar refrain:

“Why are they shoving this stuff down our throats?”

“Why isn’t there a celebration for heterosexual people?”

“I don’t mind gay people, but why do they have to make a big deal about this stuff?”

“It’s immoral and against my religious values.”

Since I am a happily married heterosexual, I thought it might be useful if I attempted to answer those questions from the perspective of someone who doesn’t “fly the rainbow flag.”

What is often overlooked is the fact that Pride Month is a celebration for everyone, even us grumpy, older straight people fit on the rainbow spectrum.

The point of Pride celebrations is the joyous relief that no one – no one – has to live in fear of retaliation or even violence just because of their gender, orientation, skin color, cultural heritage or anything else.

Violence. you say? Really? That’s just an exaggeration to illicit sympathy for social deviants, right? Ummm, . . . here, hold my beer.

Join me now for a trip in the Way-Back time machine. Actually, we’re not going too far back in time.

It is October 6, 1998. We are standing in a sprawling pasture not far from Fort Collins, Colorado. We can see a long wooden fence with blood stains.

This is the spot where college student Matthew Shepard was beaten and tortured by two other men.

Mathhew had been strapped to one of those fence posts. His attackers took their time brutally attacking him, celebrating their uncorked rage and hatred. They beat him relentlessly until he lost consciousness.

Matthew’s attackers left him there alone to die in an open field, his body shattered and still bleeding. Matthew died a few days later in a hospital room.

What was Matthew’s crime? Why did his attackers hate him so much? Why did they feel the need to take his life? What terrible thing had he done to spark so much anger, so much hatred?

Matthew was gay.

That’s it. Matthew was an adult male who loved another man. That’s it. That’s all.

Simply because he loved another man, Matthew’s attackers felt it was their God-given, righteous duty to mete out their own version of justice.

During their trial, one of the attackers told the Court that Matthew had made “sexual advances” toward him. Some people even expressed sympathy toward the two men who killed Matthew Shepard.

Now, with that out of the way, let me now try to answer those four questions.

  1. Why are they shoving this stuff down our throats?

Well, for starters, having a parade and flying a flag is far cry from “shoving something down anyone’s throats.” Gay people have been around just as long as straight people, but have always been in the minority. Always made to feel that thy are “queers” and not worthy. Defective, immoral people: faggots and dykes.

It has been this way for millennia. Homosexuality has been condemned in literature, films, popular music and even religious texts including the Bible and the Quran.

Remember high school? Imagine if one of your classmates brought another boy to the prom? How would that have gone over? Imagine that girl living down the street giving another girl a Valentine’s Day card.

In reality, — until very, very recently — heterosexuality is what is crammed down every kid’s throat from birth onward.

What bothers you so much about seeing a rainbow flag or seeing gay people openly and proudly marching in a parade? Why are you so easily triggered by seeing people now able to express their love and identity? Don’t we all have the right to life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness?

  • Why isn’t there a celebration for straight people?

Seriously? Every other month except June is basically a celebration, honoring heterosexual people. It’s Mr. and Mrs. Claus, not Mr. and Mister Claus, right?

If you’re a straight person, odds are that you have always enjoyed the relative safety, comfort and acceptance of being straight.

You were never asked to live a lie, to hide your true feelings. To remain in a closet out of sight, and out of my mind.

Up until just a few years ago, gay people were expected to stay out of view. They were not allowed to marry the person they loved and cherished. They were not allowed to serve in the military. All that is slowly changing. That is why gay people can now – finally – celebrate the fact that they are gay.

  • I don’t mind gay people, but why do they have to make a big deal about being gay?

For starters, refer to point No. 2. Are you married? Ever been to a wedding? Know someone who is married? Marriage ceremonies are a really big deal and represent a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Why do straight people make such a big deal about their weddings, engagements and anniversaries? It’s all-over social media: Straight people celebrating their kids, sharing pictures of their honeymoons and their dream weddings.

Who we love IS a big deal and cause for celebration, straight, gay or whatever.

  •  It’s immoral and against my religious values.

Many people are quick to say that homosexuality is a sin, an affront to God, the creator. I’d like to know what exactly is wrong with consenting adults loving each other. What bothers you so much about adults being able to live their own, authentic lives?

“Well, it’s prohibited in the Bible,” some folks say.

Yes, it is. In fact, the Bible has some very specific language describing homosexuality as abomination. (Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13, not to mention other passages in the New Testament.

The Book of Leviticus offers the following: “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable, and “If a man lies with a man as one lies with woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

I wonder if the two men who attacked and killed Matthew Shepard were thinking, “hey, we’re just following what the Bible says.”

It should be noted that the same book of the Bible also prohibits tattoos, eating bacon, lobster, clams and oysters.

The book of Leviticus also offers helpful advice for the proper rules of selling a slave and advocates the death penalty for adultery.

So, do we follow the Bible or just the selected parts we like?

I can almost hear some people screaming about transgender persons using public restrooms and the “unfairness” of athletic teams that allow biological men to compete on women’s teams.

I don’t have all the answers. But I do have faith. I believe a nation that figured out how to put a man on the moon can probably tackle and solve these controversial issues.

Remember, less than 75 years ago it was still quite fashionable to complain about Blacks using the same water fountains as their white counterparts.

Are some members of the LGBTQ+ community a bit too extreme and in-your-face? Yup. Being gay or trans does not necessarily exempt you from being an asshole or stop you from being obnoxious or rude in public.

But 99.9 percent of the LGBTQ+ community are just like you and me. They just want to heave a sigh of relief and celebrate the fact that they no longer have to remain hidden from view.

As far as I know, celebrating Pride Month is not a compulsory obligation. If Pride celebrations really bother you, don’t go to the parade or flag-raising ceremony.

But maybe ask yourself this: what exactly are you afraid of? Do you view homosexuality as a disease? Are you worried that if your kid reads a book about another kid with two dads, then your kid will decide to become gay. Really?

When, exactly, did you decide that you were straight? Did you get it from a book, a movie or a parade?

If you’re gay, you’re gay. If you’re straight, you’re straight. It’s not any more of a choice than your eye color or your height. It’s how you were born. It’s who you are. It’s not a choice.  You don’t choose to be tall or short; to have blue eyes or brown eyes. You don’t choose where you were born. It’s really okay for us to be different and to be decent toward people different from ourselves.

You always have the choice to just be kind and respectful. If a rainbow offends you, simply turn away. Scroll past.

Relax. July will be here before you know it. And then we can ALL celebrate our freedom by waving flags, marching in parades and lighting fireworks. Remember, we are ALL equal, not just us straight, old, grumpy white guys.

Peace!

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Don’t Do Me Like That

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

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.

Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman

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.

Biddeford City Council President Liam LaFountain

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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Losing My Religion, Part Deux

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

Originally published at Saco Bay News, April 6, 2024

This is a story about a Maine state senator and some very blatant hypocrisy and the pure political exploitation of a religious holiday.

Despite the claims made by some neo-conservatives and other outright bigots, I believe — as did former President Ronald Reagan — that our country is only made stronger and more noble because we embrace and assimilate many different cultures and ethnicities under one umbrella; a nation where all those seeking freedom can co-exist equally and each set a course in the pursuit of happiness.

Henry Ingwersen/ Campaign site photo

Diversity is a good thing. Inclusion is a good thing — right up until such ideals are exploited for political favor or for silly campaign fodder.

As President Reagan eloquently explained in his 1987 speech before the World Affairs Council, “You can live in Germany, Turkey, or Japan, but you can’t become a German, a Turk, or Japanese,” Reagan said. “But anyone, from any corner of the earth, can come live in America and become an American. That is the essence and ultimate strength of our nation.”

But this is not a column about Ronald Reagan.

Instead, this is a column about State Sen. Henry Ingwersen, a Democrat seeking re-election to again represent the communities of Biddeford, Arundel and Kennebunk in the Maine State Senate for a second term.

Ingwersen is a nice enough guy, but he also might possibly be the whitest person to ever roam the shores of southern Maine. And he knows it. I think it actually causes him pain.

Ingwersen recently appeared almost desperate to showcase his appreciation for the ideals of diversity and inclusion. So desperate, in fact, that he actually took the time to send Saco Bay News a press release pointing out the fact that he attended a recent dinner to celebrate and honor Maine’s growing Muslim community during a time of their high holiday celebrations.

I think it’s awesome that Ingwersen took the time to attend the recent Iftar Celebration dinner, which celebrates the end of the daily fast during Ramadan. The community dinner was held at Southern Maine Health Care last Saturday.

Saturday’s celebration was rescheduled due to poor weather conditions. Thus, this celebration of the Muslim faith was held smack dab between Good Friday and Easter, two of the most important holidays in the Christian faith.

Laura and I were invited to the event but were unable to attend the rescheduled dinner. I was looking forward to it because I know next to nothing about the culture surrounding the Muslim faith.

According to a nugget I found on the city of Biddeford’s official website, ”during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims worldwide dedicate time to spiritual reflection; at the heart of this sacred month lies the principle of charity, known as ‘Zakat’ in Arabic. Charity (Zakat) holds profound significance as one of the Five Pillars of Islam, underscoring the importance of sharing one’s wealth with those in need.”

More about the celebration and its cultural significance can be found in the April 8 edition of the Biddeford Beat newsletter, a municipal publication distributed online by city officials.

Full disclosure: I was raised Catholic and did not attend Mass on either Good Friday or on Easter Sunday. I have a complicated relationship with God, but I think He/She/It appreciates the fact that I avoid the hypocrisy of just going to Mass on high holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

But back to Ingwersen. I don’t recall getting a press release from the senator celebrating Easter, Chanukah or Wesak, which celebrates the birth of Buddha.

No press release and accompanying photo of Henry Ingwersen on Ash Wednesday or any other of the more boring traditional holidays likely celebrated by an overwhelming percentage of his constituents.

And that’s a good thing. Elected officials should really leave religion at home and not use it to curry the voters’ favor or to appear more “hip and diverse.”

The ultimate irony here is that Ingwersen politically decimated a Christian pastor who ran unsuccessfully as the Republican nominee for the District 32 senate  seat.

I, and many others, found it a bit strange that Rev. David Corbett used his religious title in his campaign materials, including his lawn signs.

Despite common misconceptions, there is no specific mention of a “separation of church and state” in the Constitution. The First Amendment does, however, prohibit the government from establishing a national religion.

Many Democrats across the country are currently mocking Donald Trump’s sickening campaign ploy to sell autographed Bibles.

The Democrats laugh and point and Trump’s blatant hypocrisy and how he exploits Christians for his own political gain.

What would they think about Ingwersen actively seeking media attention for attending a religious event? Is what’s good for the goose good for the gander?

Ingwersen should publicly apologize for trying to use a wonderful community event for his own political gain.

In the movie Jaws, Police Chief Martin Brody says: “I’m the chief of police. I can do anything.” He soon learns a lesson about his arrogance.

Hopefully, Henry will learn a lesson, too.

Attending the dinner and celebration is important. Many other local politicians attended the event. But sending out a press release and a photo of yourself at the event is just boorish.

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So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

~ Randy Seaver ~ 1 Comment

The title of this week’s blog post comes from writer Douglas Adams and his series of books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy anthology.

I thought it was an apt title for a column about Bobby Mills’ quite sudden and rather mystifying resignation from the Biddeford City Council on Tuesday afternoon. Mills will also resign his current position as York County Treasurer, effective April 15.

Bob Mills/ Facebook photo

In response to a phone call, Mills sent me a curt text message saying he was resigning his public offices (yes, plural) for “personal reasons.”

I have been covering Bob Mills’ political career for nearly 15 years. It’s been quite a ride.

In all honesty, I think I have sometimes gone a bit overboard when critiquing Mills’ service on the city council. I routinely criticized him for bloviating during council meetings and for his incessant self-promotion. In summary, I think I have been just a bit too harsh on Councilor Mills and his service to the people he represents.

I once told a friend that only Bob Mills was able to miraculously outpace both Marty Grohman and Justin Chenette when it comes to seizing almost every opportunity to win public office.

Mills was first elected to the city council in 2007. He once fended off a five-way challenge for his seat. He also unsuccessfully ran against fellow Democrat Megan Rochelo for her seat in the Maine House of Representatives.

But something strange has happened in the last couple of years. Mills has become a lot more measured, a lot more thoughtful and a lot more professional. In all honesty, he does take his take his service to the community very seriously.

One of his fellow councilors described Mills as “tenacious and 110 percent dedicated” to his constituents and the city as a whole.

Serving on the city council is a thankless job. It is time consuming and offers a monthly stipend of less than $100, working out to about $1.15 an hour, considering the time needed to review documents, constituent service, attend workshops, special meetings and regular meetings of the council.

I also have a lot of respect for Mills because of his ability to accept criticism from blowhards like me without ever making things personal. We may never be close friends but Mills always — always — treated me with respect, courtesy and professionalism. He always returned my calls; always treated me fairly. In retrospect, maybe he was the bigger and better man than me.

It’s quite easy for people like me to sit back and publicly criticize politicians, but it’s not so easy to endure those criticisms when you’re sitting on the other side of the fence.

Because Mills has served fewer than 180 days since his last election, the city will need to hold a special election to fill the now vacant Ward Four seat on the city council.

I am sure that the city will find a decent and honorable person to fill the vacancy, but speaking just for me, I will honestly miss Bob Mills and his presence on the council.

Appearing before 100 reporters at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 1962, former president Richard Nixon lashed out at the media, following his bitter loss in the California gubernatorial election.

“You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore,” Nixon told the press corps. “because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.”

Well, it looks like this is my last bog post about Bobby Mills. Good luck, sir and my sincere thanks for your long tenure of service to our community. I will miss you.

Thanks for all the fish.

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Don’t Steal My Sunshine

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

Note: This is the unedited version of my March 8, 2024 installment of All Along the Watchtower that originally appeared on the Saco Bay News website.

It probably would not come as much of a surprise if I were to tell you that a lot of people don’t like me very much.

Chief among those who will never join the official Randy Seaver Fan Club is none other than Biddeford City Manager James Bennett.

City Manager James Bennett. Photo credit: City of Biddeford website.

According to several sources, Bennett really, really does not like me.

He hates me more than Richard Nixon hated Carl Bernstein; more than Paul LePage hates Bill Nemitz.

Of course, Jim has never said that to my face, but that’s pretty much par for the course when it comes to Biddeford’s city manager.

Some people don’t like me because I have strong opinions and rarely turn down an opportunity to share those opinions with as many people as possible.

Others are jealous of my rugged good looks, my brilliant mind and my ability to string together sentences on an empty stomach.

But mostly, people are jealous of me because of my smoking hot wife. They shake their heads, wondering how Laura could possibly want to share her bed with a significantly overweight, bald guy who wears partial dentures and takes five different medications to combat persistent mental health issues.

Sadly, every single thing in the above paragraph is absolutely true. Not a lick of sarcasm. (Smoking two packs of non-filtered cigarettes every day for nearly 40 years takes a toll. Just trust me on this.)

Back to Bennett.

While there are several people in Biddeford who would probably love to see me jump to my death from atop the MERC smokestack, few of them have as much reason to hate me as does Jim Bennett.

Over the last couple of years, I have been a thorn in Bennett’s heel. A proverbial fly in the ointment —- in short, I have been a real pain in his ass.

I have publicly critiqued his management style. I have talked and written about things that he would probably prefer to keep under the radar. I pester him, calling his office and sending him emails in an effort to dig up and report public information.

I have written and published stories that don’t always paint the most flattering picture of my community.

Why do I do this? Why am I such a jerk? Who needs pesky reporters roaming the hallways of City Hall unsupervised?

I mean, really. The city has its own Facebook page. In fact, our tax dollars are used so that the city can write its own news about what the city is doing. What could possibly go wrong?

Why do we need independent, third-party journalists?

I’m a believer

This coming week (March 10-16) we will once again celebrate National Sunshine Week, and it has nothing to do with turning our clocks forward one hour.

Sunshine Week is a national initiative spearheaded by the American Society of News Editors. It was founded in 2005, and its purpose is to highlight the tools and resources that the media (and the general public) has to ensure open and transparent government.

Why should Sunshine Week matter to you?

Jim Zachary, national deputy editor for CNHI, penned a column for the American Society of News Editors. The following is an excerpt:

“The media is most definitely not your enemy,” Zachary wrote. “Far from being the enemy of the people, day in and day out we take our role as the Fourth Estate (government oversight) seriously and work hard to protect your right to know, making public records requests and attending public meetings to keep you informed.

“Why?

“Because we believe all the business government does, whether in open public meetings or behind closed doors, is your business.

“We believe every last penny government spends is your money.

“We believe it is your right to know every transaction, every decision, every expenditure and every deliberation of your government.

“Whether talking about the White House, the statehouse or the county courthouse, all the documents held in government halls belong to the people, and all the business conducted by our governors is public business.”

Sunshine Week coincides with the anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act, federal legislation that was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966 just as the Vietnam War was heating up.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the media with the legal muscle that we need in order to keep the public informed about government affairs.

One of the earliest and most notable uses of the FOIA was its role in the Watergate scandal. Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein had to use extraordinary tactics, which included FOIA, in order to get to the truth that eventually crumbled Richard Nixon’s presidency.

Last week, Biddeford City Manager James Bennett presented his proposed annual budget to the city council. I sat there, in the back row, taking notes. I was the only reporter there. Honestly, it made me very sad.

Thirty years ago, there would be at least three reporters at every city meeting. But it’s different now. The Portland Press Herald closed its local Main Street bureau. The locally owned Biddeford-Saco Courier was sold and the Journal Tribune, formerly the Biddeford Daily Journal, this area’s iconic news source, fell victim to the ongoing corporate butchering of local media coverage, closing its doors forever.

Today, the Portland Press Herald rarely covers local news in the Biddeford-Saco area. Reporter Gillian Graham is smart, talented and hardworking, but she is spread thin, and her employer has opted to save money by using the weekly Biddeford-Saco Courier to cover news in this neck of the woods.

Eloise Goldsmith, the Courier’s newest reporter, is also smart, talented and hard-working. That said, Goldsmith’s editors expect her to cover the communities of Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel.

How we can we possibly expect one person to cover such a large geographic area?

 Many years ago, when I was the Courier’s editor, we had one reporter covering Biddeford, another reporter covering Saco and Old Orchard Beach; and yet another reporter covering the towns of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel for our sister publication, The Post.

Today, we are expecting one reporter to do the same job as three reporters did 25 years ago.

According to a Brookings Institution report, more than 2,000 newspapers across the country ceased publication in the last 15 years or so. The shuttering of newspapers presents a very real and present danger to our most basic freedoms.

Who cares? Who does this hurt?

It hurts you, your wallet and your neighbors.

Thankfully, one young woman from Old Orchard Beach decided that this area deserves a media source to help fill the coverage gap left behind by the changing local journalism landscape.

When the Journal Tribune closed its doors a few years ago, reporter Liz Gotthelf packed up her belongings and decided to launch Saco Bay News, a free online, professional news source.

Running an independent media source is no easy task. There is no such thing as a 40-hour work-week. The income sucks, the hours are long and the work is often so tedious that is causes migraines.

It is a mostly a thankless task and easily criticized by people who know very little about journalism. But Liz is fully committed. She is an idealist, and she firmly believes that you should have consistent, reliable information regarding everything from the opening of a new eatery to coverage of bank robbery, a structure fire and yes even your local budget.

I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)

Jim Bennett will routinely ignore my telephone calls and emails. It doesn’t hurt my feelings, but it’s a disservice to the people I work for: you.

I treat Jim Bennett differently than any other city employee, including department heads. I have never written (and will never write) a disparaging column about any city employee. I will not make snarky remarks or sarcastic criticisms about our hard-working talented city employees.

I treat Jim differently, however. I hold him to a higher standard. Why?

Because Jim Bennett sits at the top of the proverbial food chain. Because he wants to wear the big-boy pants. Because he has more than 40 years of experience in city government.

But mostly because he often acts like an egotistical, condescending and arrogant son-of-a-bitch. What a pair we make.

A few months ago, former Mayor Alan Casavant, a friend of mine, called me and said that Jim Bennett thinks I treat him unfairly (I hear that from lots of people). I like Alan. I was his campaign manager when he first ran for the mayor’s seat in 2011 (I was not working as a journalist then). So, as a favor to the former mayor, I offered to sit down with Jim and a tape recorder and conduct a one-on-one interview on any topic of his choosing.

Reportedly, Jim did not like that idea. I’m guessing he was more worried about my tape recorder than he was about me.

Councilor Marc Lessard has often found himself on the wrong side of my pen. He and I have sparred publicly for more than three decades. But you know what? Marc always returns my calls promptly.

It’s not personal, it’s business.

Few people have suffered more because of my writing than Councilor Bobby Mills. Just ask him. But you know what? Bobby Mills always returns my calls.

Why? Because Lessard and Mills have thick skin and realize that I am a direct conduit to their constituents. To them, the people’s business is more important than petty, vindicative personality battles.

In all fairness, Jim Bennett can be a nice guy when he wants to be.

Jim is intelligent, and he does have a lot of municipal experience. He is also very involved in charitable work with the non-profit Kora Shrine Temple and commits hundreds of hours annually to the Shriners and their mission to provide free medical treatment for children.

All Jim needs is a thicker skin and a better attitude. But I don’t think he needs more highly paid assistants working in the city manager’s office.

I think Larry Vaughan, the mayor of Amity Island, said it best in the movie Jaws:

“Look, Martin, if you yell barracuda, people will say “Huh? What? But if you yell FOIA, we’ll have a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July.”

As always, thank you for reading, and I welcome your thoughts, especially if you disagree with me.

________

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Sixty Lessons Learned Over 60 Years

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

Originally published (without pictures) in Saco Bay News

Since I am literally on the cusp of turning 60 this week, I thought for this installment of All Along The Watchtower, I would share 60 different things I have learned (sometimes the hard way) over the past 60 years. Here we go:

Alpacas are better than Llamas. Fact.

It’s okay for a grown man to cry during a movie, even if it’s Dumbo. Such behavior demonstrates empathy and significantly decreases your odds of becoming a serial killer.

Owning a dog is probably the closest you will ever come to meeting God before you die.

My sister, Kristeen, and I strike a pose on the stairs of our State Street apartment in Biddeford.

Cherish and nurture your friendships. Never take them for granted. Those relationships are more precious than gold.

Having and raising children is a sure-fire method of forgiving your parents for any transgressions.

Always go with the higher-quality toilet paper. Two-ply or better. It may cost more at the register but you will save money in how much you need.

Every single person has done silly and stupid things. Forgive yourself for the same behavior.

If you are going to drink Scotch, ALWAYS go with a single malt.

When eating out, be willing to try something new.

Lackland A,F.B, July 1982

Say “I love you” every single day to your spouse, your child or your dog. Then follow it up with an act of love.

If you travel to a foreign country, try to learn a few basic phrases of their national language, i.e. Please, Thank you, Hello, Goodbye, Good morning and good night.

Always tip your servers and bartenders at least 20 percent. If you can’t afford that, you can’t afford to eat out.

 Respect your elders. With any luck, you will be their age someday.

Never, ever, ever add a liquid accelerant (gasoline, kerosene, etc.) onto a camp fire in progress.

If you join the military, don’t pack a lot of stuff for your first day at boot camp. You won’t need it.

Everyone should have the experience of a night in jail. It really changes your perspective.

Moderation is nice, but a second piece of pie is better.

At least once in your life, jump into the north Atlantic Ocean in January. You will never feel more alive.

Try to do one random act of kindness each day, even something as simple as letting someone else cut in front of you in traffic.

Take good care of your teeth. Just trust me on this.

Live in different states across the country.

Teenagers should be required to read Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson. Seniors should read those books again before judging young people.

Me and my mother, 1985

Remember: every person, including you, has an expiration date. Act accordingly.

Watch The Godfather for lessons in loyalty; watch Jaws to learn respect for nature; and watch The Blues Brothers to learn about having fun and paying your debts.

Get a library card and use it frequently.

Learn the value of being alone, sipping bourbon and listening to Miles Davis.

Pay attention to the world around you, be a voracious reader and a critical thinker.

Question authority, but don’t be a jerk about it.

Look up a former teacher and say “Thank you.”

It’s Daylight-Saving Time, not Daylight Savings Time.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Steak should always be medium rare, and coffee is best served black.

Never miss an opportunity to vote.

Go to a local Little League game, especially if you don’t know any of the players. Cheer for all of them.

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are as real as you want them to be. Those are just different names for Kindness, Generosity and Love.

Use your headlights while driving in the rain, even during daylight hours.

Speaking of driving, ALWAYS wear a seatbelt.

It is always better to have too much than not enough.

If you’re not five minutes early, you are ten minutes late.

Learn to count to 10 in three different languages other than your native tongue. It’s a neat bar trick and makes the girls think you’re smart.

If you’re drinking really good, expensive bourbon, try to avoid pouring it over ice.

Guiness should always be served at room temperature.

With few exceptions, the book is always better than the movie.

Remember that white, Christian people were the very first immigrants to arrive in this part of the world.

Know the difference between faith and religion.

You never help a man see your point of view by giving him a black eye.

No matter how far down the scale you have fallen, it’s NEVER too late to do something nice.

Kindness is always a choice and an option. Always.

Sweating is good for you. It is a natural way for your body to rid itself of toxins.

Owning a cat teaches you humility.

Men: try shaving your legs and underarms every day for a week so that you can better appreciate what a pain in the ass it is to be a woman.

Men: Always give up your seat for a woman left standing. Always.

When shaking hands, do so firmly with direct eye contact.

Every person should own a roll of duct-tape, a can of WD-40 and a hammer. With these tools, you can fix almost everything.

Green plants will burn. In fact, anything will burn if it gets hot enough.

There is NEVER a reason or excuse to litter.

If you have not been, go to the Grand Canyon. It cannot be described with words.

To avoid shark attacks, stay away from the ocean.

Never underestimate the value of chocolate.

If you are afraid of rollercoasters, ride the Carousel. Never be afraid to have fun.

A Hard Day’s Night

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

No one can deny that the city of Biddeford – once derided as “Trash-town U.S.A.”  — has today become an unlikely hip destination for young adults and others who enjoy an eclectic array of craft breweries, a diverse culinary scene and dozens of boutique shops and businesses that offer everything from gourmet cheeses to hand-crafted outdoor gear.

In fact, several national publications that cater to the promotion of unique culinary delights and a creative economy all point to the city of Biddeford as a place to be for young, urban professionals.

A photo from the Heart of Biddeford website

Not surprisingly, the city of Biddeford is today Maine’s youngest city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

What a change 23 years make, but that change wasn’t easy — and it does come with some equally undeniable consequences.

More about that in a moment. First, a bit of disclosure.

Over the past few weeks, I have been sorting through hundreds of stories I have written about Biddeford since the mid-1990s as part of the redesign and launch of this website, Lessons in Mediocrity.

From 1998 until 2002, before I met my wife, I lived in downtown Biddeford; on the third-floor above the Happy Dragon Restaurant on Main Street.

I also grew up in the Biddeford-Saco area. My family goes back four generations in this community. My wife, a former Biddeford city councilor, and I have been living at our home on Lamothe Avenue for just over 20 years.

After my time at the Courier, I continued to write/blog about the city, its politics and people. As a policy consultant, I worked on several local campaigns and issues. My kids went to Biddeford schools.

I also served on the Biddeford Airport Commission, the Downtown Development Commission and the Biddeford Zoning Board of Appeals.

Today, I keep my toes in the water by working as a free-lance writer, still writing about Biddeford for Saco Bay News.

You get the point. I have a close connection to Biddeford, a community I love and care about deeply.

Why am I sharing this now?

When we look at the city of Biddeford today, I think many of us tend to forget the challenges the city was facing then, when we literally burned our trash in the middle of downtown.

When I joined the Courier in 1998, my boss and publisher David Flood was already an ardent and outspoken booster for downtown Biddeford.

David – unlike me and several other people – saw big potential in Biddeford’s downtown, despite some overwhelming challenges that included the presence of a downtown trash incinerator and significant socio-economic hurdles.

In fact, David  – who was recently inducted into the Biddeford Hall of Fame — was one of the original founders of the Heart of Biddeford, a non-profit organization established in 2004 with a mission to promote economic development and improve quality of life in the city’s downtown area.

While former mayor Alan Casavant receives a lot of credit for the revitalization and renaissance of downtown Biddeford. It was actually former mayor Wallace Nutting who got the ball rolling, some seven years before Casavant was elected as mayor.

Nutting a retired four-star general and native of Saco, also had a strong vision of what downtown Biddeford could become.

Although Nutting, a former Pentagon official who served as a senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan, was one of the smartest, most distinguished and accomplished people I ever met, I thought he was off his proverbial rocker when he started talking about the city’s beleaguered downtown as a “destination for arts, culture and local shopping.”

But Nutting and Flood were not alone. The former mayor also tapped several other like-minded citizens to join him on his newest crusade. Ed Caron, a Biddeford attorney; Renee (Potvin) O’Neil, the woman who basically spearheaded the renovation of City Theater, and Donna Tippett all volunteered to help.

Nutting, the man who previously led the U.S. effort to extricate Manuel Noreiga out of Panama, had a new mission.

Failure was not an option.

What this core group – and later several other volunteers, business owners and residents – accomplished was nothing short of amazing.

But hindsight is always 20/20. It took years, taxpayer funding and political willpower to transform downtown from a neglected hodgepodge of businesses to one of the most vibrant cities in Maine.

Now back to those unintended consequences.

Biddeford After Dark

In the autumn of 2001, while working for David and Carolyn Flood, I decided to write a five part-series about downtown Biddeford, but with a twist.

My Biddeford After Dark series would explore the city’s then gritty downtown area during the overnight hours.

I would write about the punks who congregated at the 7-11 store near the intersection of Jefferson and Alfred Streets; I would ride along with third-shift Biddeford police officers and I would interview the late-night workers, including the supervisors at the MERC incinerator.

I don’t think David was crazy about my idea. I think he was concerned that my series would only perpetuate negative stereotypes about the city of Biddeford.

But – as was so often the case – David game me a wide berth and lots of latitude in running the newsroom.

At that time, I was living and working in downtown Biddeford. I didn’t write the series for overtime pay or to avoid my daytime responsibilities as the Courier’s editor. I was single. I lived alone. I did it for fun.

An excerpt from that series: “As I walk along Lincoln Street — past a tired wrought-iron fence that is leaning and lurching in places — I can almost hear the ghosts of the past. They call to each other, unloading bales of cotton, smoking cigarettes and wiping the sweat from their brows.”

Back then, the former Lincoln Mill clocktower was perched and rotting on the ground in front of the vacant and deteriorating mill building that is today – 23 years later– a luxury hotel with a roof-top swimming pool, a craft distillery and an expansive lobby that has become a favorite gathering place for locals and visitors alike.

Who would have imagined?

But here’s the other thing, the downside of the good news.

A photo I took of the former Lincoln Mill clocktower nearly 25 years ago.

In 2001, it wasn’t hard to find a parking spot in downtown Biddeford. In 2001, you didn’t see any homeless folks sleeping in doorways on Main Street. In 2001, rents – both commercial and residential – were among the lowest in southern Maine.

Why? Well, it’s pretty simple: very few people really wanted to live or shop in downtown Biddeford back then. The stench of burning garbage; shuttered and vacant mill buildings and crumbling infrastructure hardly gave off a welcoming vibe.

Sure, there were some notable exceptions. Legacy businesses such as Reilly’s Bakery and Biddeford Savings Bank were able to weather the storm created by an economic recession and the terrible decision to burn garbage downtown.

But many people had given up on the downtown. Politicians set their sights on easy targets: the development of Wal-Mart and other big-box stores on the outer end of Alfred Road, a proposed racino and continued suburban sprawl on the western side of the city.

As I go through the stories and columns I wrote back then, I am reminded of the tremendous debt we all owe to David Flood, Wallace Nutting, Renee O’Neil and so many others.

We should also never forget the business leaders, civic activists and policy makers who formed Twin Cities Renaissance, the coalition of visionaries from both sides of the Saco River who committed themselves to seeing MERC finally closed.

Sure, Alan Casavant deserves lots of credit for helping us believe in our city again, but he got a lot of help from people who believed in Biddeford even when many of us had given up on the city.

Thank you for your blood, sweat and tears.

In the movie Jaws, Mayor Larry Vaughan says he was just “acting in the town’s best interests” by keeping the beaches open.

In Biddeford, Mayor Wallace Nutting was acting in the town’s best interest by believing in his city and its people.

Make no mistake. Our city still has challenges and hurdles to clear. But if you look at what has been accomplished over the last two decades, Biddeford’s future seems bright.

Originally published in Saco Bay News

Exile in Guyville, Part II

~ Randy Seaver ~ 1 Comment

Loyal readers of this column may recall that last year I basically eviscerated the Biddeford City Council and City Manager James Bennett for spending $20,000 of taxpayer money to hire a private consulting firm in the hopes of finding a solution to the growing problem of homelessness in our community.

I’ve got good news and bad news for Biddeford taxpayers.

First, the good news. The City of Saco was stupid enough to split the cost with us.

The bad news? I told you so. The problem is just getting worse, and the much-anticipated report from the consultants was about as useless as the comb I still carry in my back pocket.

In case you missed it, the Biddeford City Council recently held a near three-hour-long workshop meeting to once again “discuss this very important topic,” in the words of Mayor Marty Grohman.

Before we proceed, I’d like to set the record straight. Every single member of the Biddeford City Council cares very much about the plight of homeless people in our community. City Manager James Bennett also cares about this issue and wants to find a solution.

Former mayor Alan Casavant still cares very much about this issue. Many of you readers also care very much about this issue. I care very much about this issue. So, why do we still have a problem?

To paraphrase James Carville, “It’s about the money, stupid!”

During last week’s workshop meeting, Timothy Boston read aloud a portion of my recent interview with former mayor and retired judge Michael Cantara. In that interview, Cantara hit the nail on the head.

“Without question, we must address the issue of homelessness,” Cantara told me. “Yes, it is a financially expensive and complicated issue, but we have an ethical obligation; a moral obligation to do more than just talk about the issue.”

But “just talk” seems to be what we do best. We talk. We write white papers and convene focus groups. We talk some more. We spend money on consultants and form more committees. We pontificate and bloviate in newspaper editorials and at the podium in the City Council Chambers.

We are full of righteous indignation, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. At least that’s how it feels if you’re in a tent with freezing temperatures and wind gusts of more than 25 miles per hour. It all seems like a lot of bullshit.

Why? Because we all conveniently skip over some hard truths.

In the consulting world, there’s an old mantra: If you’re not part of the solution, there’s good money to be had at prolonging the problem. I know this. I make my living as a consultant. The newspaper gig is just a side hustle.

The report from WestEast Design Group was exactly what I expected: several pages of fluff with four pages of references and another four pages of appendices.

I give them some credit, however. They were able to successfully use the word ‘leverage’ as both a verb and a noun at least a dozen times in the 24-page report.

There are basically four key take-aways from the rather lackluster report:

  1. There is a lack of physical space for services (including housing and treatment) in the Biddeford-Saco area;
  2. The Biddeford-Saco area has a growing homeless problem;
  3. People in Biddeford and Saco seem to be very compassionate and kind toward homeless individuals;
  4. The cities should “leverage” their existing resources and relationships and consider forming a ‘coordinating committee” to further study and understand this issue.

Well, thank you, Captain Obvious!

I kid you not. You can download the report and read it for yourself; I mean if you occasionally enjoy sticking a lit cigarette up your ass.

Basically, the consultants interviewed area stakeholders, including non-profit agencies, the Biddeford Housing Authority, the Police Department, the hospital and even yours truly. Yup, they interviewed me. They then wrote several pages, explaining how they conducted the interviews and what questions were asked.

At this point, they summarized the results of those interviews and told the council what the council had already heard from those same stakeholders over a period of more than two years. Remember, it was almost three years ago when Casavant first created the city’s Affordable Housing Task Force.

Last year, I publicly chided the then mayor and council for even considering hiring a consultant. I stood at the podium and told them: you only have five options. That’s it. Just five options and they each come with consequences.

First option: You can do absolutely nothing and ignore the problem until it goes away. (It going to cost you a ton of money because of impacts to schools, businesses and city services, but those costs will be somewhat hidden and therefore politically expedient.)

Secondly, you can take steps to immediately increase housing supply and soften demand by creative changes to zoning and other ordinances. (To their credit, the council is already doing this.)

Third option: you could implement rent control, despite the fact that it often creates more problems than it solves (Reference the city of Portland, Maine).

Fourth, you could collaborate with regional communities and build (and staff) a treatment facility that would include mental health services and a temporary housing shelter. Or finally, you could do what the city of Portland did: You can build and staff your own shelter.

That’s it. There are no other options.

See, it took me only 142 words to compile my report as opposed to nearly 30 pages from the hired consultants.

Let’s use Portland, Maine as an example. Last year, Portland unveiled a new state-of-the-art shelter that includes staffing for acute psychiatric care and substance abuse services.

The price tag? Roughly $25 million. A little more than $6 million was provided by the state with federal COVID relief funds. The remaining $18 million came from a private developer.

The result? Portland has a growing homeless problem. On many nights, there are literally several empty beds at the shelter because many people don’t want to stay at a shelter.

Think about that for a moment. The city built a $25 million shelter and yet the problem is growing. For comparison purposes, the city of Biddeford’s total city budget (excluding schools) is roughly $24.8 million, a 5.8 percent increase over last year.

Translation? We would literally have to double our municipal budget to build a shelter like the one in Portland.

Now let’s pretend we all live in Never-Never Land and a magic unicorn comes by and drops $25 million in our laps. How long do we continue funding? Where would it be located? Rotary Park could be an ideal location. How about the former Trull Hospital on May Street? How about your neighborhood?

You get the point. This problem requires money, but it also requires a commitment from ALL stakeholders, including the homeless themselves.

Any solution is going to require at least some cooperation from those who are most directly impacted by the problem. They are our neighbors. They deserve dignity. They deserve our empathy, support and compassion, but they also must be willing to sit at the table and help solve the problem.

In the movie Jaws, it becomes quickly apparent that the town of Amity has a serious problem on its hands. The town’s elected leaders are hesitant to spend the money required to solve the problem. We all know what happens next. The problem literally jumps up and bites them in the ass.

Our problem is not going to go away. It’s just going to get worse.

It’s time to end the paralysis of analysis. No more task forces. No more white papers. No more window dressing solutions. Bottom line: Ask yourself one simple question: How much are you willing to pay in additional taxes (or additional rent) to help cover these costs? One percent? Five percent? 10 percent? 50 percent? More?

Just imagine what we could have done with the $20,000 that we gave to a Texas-based consulting firm? I wonder how Vassie Fowler at the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Resource Center could have ‘leveraged’ those funds.

Folks, you’re going to need a bigger boat. And a bigger boat is going to cost a lot of money. I know this is true because I asked a consultant.

Originally published in Saco Bay News/ January 2024