While most people were picking out green outfits, drinking lots of beer or otherwise wasting time on St. Patrick’s Day, one select group of folks were bracing for potential fame and fortune as hopeful members of the 2015 Maine Legislature.
The deadline for wannabe state representatives and state senators came and went at 5 p.m. on March 17.
Given the impacts of last year’s legislative redistricting and Maine’s term limits law, voters will be faced with a healthy crop of fresh faces.
But you can always count on a few perennial candidates: those who think the next campaign will be the magic campaign, the Wonka Golden ticket that will admit them into the strata of being really important and somewhat relevant. Such is the case in Biddeford, where Perry Aberle — undaunted by two consecutive and somewhat epic campaign failures — has once again tossed his hat into the ring seeking to capture a legislative seat that eluded him two years ago by a hefty margin.
Now that he has tossed his hat into the ring again, hopefully, someone will toss him back a working razor.
Aberle won his last election nearly two decades ago, when he was still in high school and was elected to serve one term on the Biddeford City Council. Since then, his campaign skills have deteriorated.
He ran for the state legislature two years ago and was crushed by incumbent Paulette Beaudoin, the proverbial little old lady who cleaned Aberele’s clock by garnering nearly 64 percent of the vote (2,585-1,471).
A year later, Aberle brushed himself off and decided to challenge Biddeford Mayor Alan Casavant. Despite a much larger pool of voters in a city-wide election for mayor, Aberle’s vote total shrunk by more than half, and he finished a distant third in a three-way race that also included former mayor Joanne Twomey. Casavant easily won re-election with 2,377 votes, compared to 720 for Aberle.
Today, Aberle is again running as a Republican for the Maine House of Representatives in District 12, which includes the central and downtown portions of the city. He will face Biddeford businessman Martin Grohman, a Democrat, in the general election.
Will the the third try be the charm for Aberle? Don’t bank on it, would be my advice.
Over in District 11, which includes western portions of the city, Democrats Ryan Fecteau and David Flood will duke it out for their party’s nomination. The winner of that contest will face political newcomer Debi Davis, a Republican, in the November general election.
In the District 32 State Senate race, Democrat David Dutremble will once again bank on his family’s political legacy and last name recogntion to hold onto his seat for another term. Dutremble will once again be challenged by Arundel businessman James Booth who ran for the seat two years ago as an Independent. This time, Booth is running as a Republican. Anything is possible, but Booth is facing an uphill battle in a district that historically favors Democrats.
Another Biddeford politician has thrown his hat into the ring to replace State Rep. Paulette Beaudoin in the Maine Legislature.
While some observers were thinking that newcomer Ryan Fecteau has all but clinched the June 2014 Democratic primary for the District 11 seat, it looks like voters could have several choices.
Former Biddeford city councilor and one-time mayoral candidate David Flood announced this week that he also will be running for Beaudoin’s seat, and he’s already received her endorsement.
Flood is best known in the city as the founder and publisher of the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier and five other weekly newspapers that he and his wife sold in 2007, only months before he won an at-large seat on the city council. In 2009, Flood lost his bid to oust Mayor Joanne Twomey, but two years later voters returned him to the city council.
Flood and Fecteau both have some advantages and challenges.
Fecteau, 21, is certainly eager and appears to have built a decent foundation for his campaign. In an unprecedented move, he publicly announced his candidacy last year.
Previously, Fecteau served on the city’s Charter Review Commission and as chair of the city’s Democratic Committee. He has already set up a web site, social media pages and did what no other state representative candidate from Biddeford has done before: he coordinated a fundraiser and campaign event for himself in Washington, D.C., where he is a student at Catholic University of America.
Fecteau posted some photos from that Washington D.C. event and sent press releases to local newspapers. The photos show a bright-eyed kid with big dreams, holding a microphone and rallying a group of his peers who would be hard-pressed to find Biddeford on a map, never mind being able to vote for him.
Flood, 58, said he believes his experience as a successful business owner, entrepreneur and father makes him a strong candidate who understands the challenges of a struggling state economy and the real-life, day-to-day issues that impact voters. “This is an important time in our state’s history,” Flood said. “We need someone who knows what it’s like to pay taxes, to meet a payroll, to raise a family and deal with the complexities of life.”
Flood also has Paulette Beaudoin’s endorsement, saying she called him and asked if he would consider running for the seat she now holds.
Flood is the founder of the Heart of Biddeford, a non-profit group that is working to revitalize the city’s downtown area. He also owns commercial properties on Main Street, including a previously empty building that he co-purchased and developed with Biddeford architect Caleb Johnson. Today, 265 Main Street houses Elements Cafe and other tenants, including Engine, a non-profit arts center. Earlier this year, he launched a new magazine, Innovation Maine.
Ryan Fecteau
“I think of myself as a newspaper guy,” Flood said. “Carolyn and I opened the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier on July 13, 1989. I had just turned 34, and our two sons were eight and five years old. We know what it’s like to start a business and work as hard as you can to make it work.”
By the time the Floods sold the company, it had increased to six newspapers with 28 full-time and a dozen part-time employees.
“I do not want local governments to have to raise property taxes because the state isn’t doing its job,” Flood said. “This is an exciting time in Biddeford’s history – this is a way I can help.”
But Flood does have some challenges. Only weeks after winning his last election, he abruptly announced that he would be resigning his seat from the city council to return to the newspaper business. “It would have been a huge conflict of interest if I remained on the council,” he explained in 2011. “That opportunity came along right after the election, it’s not something I planned to do while campaigning.”
Flood’s return to the newspaper business was also short-lived, and he said he has no problems talking about that turn of events with voters.
Other Democrats who may be considering the seat include former Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey, who lost her primary challenge against Beaudoin two years ago; former city councilor Roch Angers and (because the district’s boundaries have changed) former State Sen. Nancy Sullivan.
Republican Perry Aberle is also considering another run for the seat. Aberle was trounced in his first bid for the seat by Beaudoin in 2012. A year later, in November, Aberle finished a distant third in a three-way race to be Biddeford’s next mayor.
District 11 was formerly known as District 135. Beaudoin held the seat for eight years and is being forced out because of term limits.
In about 24 hours, I will have the privilege and honor of being the first to introduce members of my community to the new members of the Biddeford City Council.
I will be the master of ceremonies at the inauguration of Mayor Alan Casavant, the nine members of the city council and the seven members of the school committee.
Many of these “new” councilors have previously served on the council, but some of them have been out of the public eye for a few years.
So, what can we expect from this new council?
For starters, I think Biddeford voters knew exactly what they were doing when they chose Clement Fleurent, Roger Hurtubise, John McCurry and Marc Lessard for a return to the council.
Each of these men are proven commodities. Each cares deeply about their community. We will all benefit from their previous service, their years of experience and their own, unique connections to the city we call home.
They are fiscally conservative and generally politically conservative. McCurry and Lessard have both previously served as council president; and both men made unsuccessful bids for the mayor’s seat (McCurry in 2007; Lessard in 2003).
While McCurry and Lessard have much in common and often see eye-to-eye on major policy issues, there is a not-so-subtle difference between the two men, at least based on my observations of their past civic performance.
McCurry is a stickler for process and he makes no bones about his priorities during annual budget battles. What you see is what you get. McCurry can be outspoken, but not for the sake of being outspoken. He has strong opinions, but he’s also a good listener. He can be stubborn, like a dog with a bone, once he has made up his mind.
McCurry is secure and confident without being arrogant. If he tells you he is going to vote for Plan A, he is going to vote for Plan A, not use his prior statement as either a political tool of manipulation; nor subject his opinion to the ranging barometer of public opinion.
But Lessard was a much different character on the council. I honestly hope that his brutal loss for the mayor’s seat a decade ago forced him to take an extra dose of humility. I will opt for optimism. It’s been 10 years. We’ve all grown and matured over the past decade.
Lessard is a political animal. Taken under the wing of former Mayor James Grattelo many years ago, Lessard often mistook his public service role as some sort of baseball game, complete with strategy, secret signals, orchestrated deals and plenty of red meat rhetoric for the spectators to gnaw upon.
He loved to quote articles from USA Today, demonstrating his vast knowledge of the nation’s economy and why Biddeford should be thankful to just be alive. He delighted in being coy and mischievous. He grinned slyly when he won; but his temper was rarely hidden on those rare occasions when he lost.
He once told me: “Randy, you could say a zebra is black with white stripes; or white with black stripes,” as a way to defend one of his positions.
I wasn’t buying it. “No,” I responded. “A zebra is just a zebra.”
Marc had a tendency to exaggerate and was no doubt frustrated that I routinely called him out about those distortions during my newspaper days.
But my newspaper days are over.
Marc and I were never best friends, but I have admiration for his zeal, his passion and his belief in his own ideas. He has never been anything less than polite and cordial with me. He is a hardworking man. By all accounts, he is a good husband and father and plays a mean game of baseball.
Conventional wisdom holds that a leopard cannot change his spots, but I still believe in Marc Lessard’s potential as a city leader. I think the people of Biddeford can be well-served by his firebrand style and his fiscally conservative approach. I think he can provide a good counterweight to some of Mayor Casavant’s idealistic leanings.
I strongly suspect that Marc has not given up on his dream of being the city’s mayor. If he asked me for my political advice, I would urge him to be a lot more like his friend John McCurry and a lot less like that guy who finished third in a three-way race 10 years ago.
Can a leopard change his spots? Let’s hope so because this council has the potential to be the best city council Biddeford has seen in a long, long time.
Even with the best of intentions, it’s too easy to screw up.
Case in point: The way Biddeford City Councilor Mike Swanton objected to a state law that allows municipalities to share a portion of proceeds seized following the conviction of a drug crime.
On Wednesday, fewer than 24 hours after the election polls closed, Police Chief Roger Beaupre went before the lame-duck City Council with a rather routine request to allocate roughly $2,100 his department received earlier this year from the Maine Attorney General’s Office.
Beaupre told the council that he wanted to use those funds to buy some new equipment for his department, including cameras for his criminal investigators.
Earlier this year, the same city council voted without objection to allow the fire department to use roughly $100,000 of money it received from the sale of an aging fire truck for the purchase of new equipment.
So far; so good, right? Wrong.
Although Chief Beaupre’s request looked like a routine matter, and the council seemed ready to rubber-stamp it, something ugly was about to happen.
Beaupre was sitting in the audience, and said he was “stunned” by what happened next.
Swanton, voice cracking at times, bristled at Beaupre’s request and didn’t hesitate to do a bit of grandstanding, a tactic usually employed – and always expected from Councilor Richard Rhames.
Swanton said the police should not be getting “incentives.” He wanted the state money to go into the city’s general fund.
Let’s pause here for a moment.
A lot of people, including me, can see the logic of Swanton’s objection to directing funds seized from criminal activity to law enforcement agencies. Perhaps there is a slippery slope of ethical concerns that elected officials should consider.
But Swanton took it a step further, by implying that Beaupre, and by extension, the entire Biddeford Police Department is engaging in some sort of shakedown corruption scheme.
“I don’t believe the police department should profit directly from confiscated money or property,” Swanton said during the meeting. “It’s too much like the Detroit shakedown,” he added, referencing the recent conviction of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on fraud and racketeering charges.
Beaupre said it was hard to swallow what he was hearing.
“I could not believe my own ears,” he said. “I have served this city with pride and integrity for than 40 years. By comparison to the funds the Fire Department was allowed to use, my request was a pittance. I was stunned.”
Four other member of the council supported Swanton’s motion to amend the order (Roch Angers, Melissa Bednarowski, David Bourque and Richard Rhames.)
No one, however, raised any objection to Swanton’s swipe. There was no declaration of conscience on Wednesday.
Swanton’s words were allowed to hang in the air and then archived in the public record without question.
Turn you inside out
Why does the City Council have different standards for the police and fire departments? Does the council have a problem with Chief Beaupre or his department?
Councilor Roch Angers seconded Swanton’s motion to move the funds to the city’s general fund.
I asked Angers why he voted earlier this year to let the fire department keep funds it received, but not the police department.
Angers said it was an oversight. “If I thought about it, I would have probably voted differently on the fire department issue,” Angers said.
On Saturday, Swanton apologized for the way he phrased his motion, but remained unapologetic for his intention. “The city should get the money; it should not be used to let the police go through a wish-list catalog.”
Swanton says he has no problems with the Biddeford Police Department.
“I love the police department,” he said. “I have tremendous respect for Chief Beaupre. I just think it’s a slippery slope. There should not even be the appearance of a quid pro quo.”
Swanton also said he has no plans to address the issue at either the state or federal level. “I just don’t think it’s a good way to do things.”
If Swanton has such an ethical concern, why was he willing to take the money in the first place? A more principled position would be to return the “dirty” money to the state.
But I guess when you’re an elected official in a cash-strapped community, there really is no thing such as “dirty” money.
A foolish consistency?
Before making their final decision, the council asked Beaupre whether it was okay to redirect the money for something other than law enforcement related expenses.
Beaupre explained that seized federal funds must be used for law enforcement. State-seized funds, however, do not come with the same requirement.
A day later, on Thursday, Beaupre received an e-mail from Biddeford High School Principal Jeremie Sirois.
According to the e-mail, Sirois is hoping to attract Chris Herren, a former NBA player who today tours the country speaking with youth about the dangers of drug addiction, for an appearance at Biddeford High School.
The cost to have Herren speak in Biddeford is $6,000.
Old Orchard Beach is reportedly willing to co-sponsor the event with Biddeford and could kick-in $1,500 from its police department’s drug grant funds.
Beaupre said he could have used the $2,100 he just received from the state, but the city council took the money for its general fund.
Swanton said it was a missed opportunity that could be easily corrected at the next council meeting.
“I think that would be the most appropriate use for those funds,” Swanton said.
It remains to be seen whether the council will reverse its position on the money it received from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, but a few things are crystal clear:
1.) Intentionally or not, Councilor Swanton smeared the reputation and dignity of one of the city’s longest serving public servants by connecting Beaupre’s routine request to a criminal conspiracy case in Detroit.
2.) Swanton had ample time to review his council packet prior to the meeting. He could have approached Beaupre privately to raise his questions and concerns.
3.) If Swanton feels so passionately about this issue, he should seek to change the state law or at least return the money to the state.
4.) Roger Beaupre has served the city of Biddeford with distinction and honor for more than 40 years. This is Biddeford, not Detroit.
5.) $2,100 is a piddly amount of money on which to make some half-assed stand on principle, especially if the Fire Department has a separate set of rules.
Mayor Alan Casavant and the rest of the city council screwed up by not objecting to Swanton’s callous remarks. Biddeford voters overwhelmingly opted for professionalism and civility on Tuesday. We didn’t see it on Wednesday.
The city of Biddeford should have a consistent policy on how funds are used by city departments.
When you are elected to public office, you ought to refrain from generalizations, especially when publicly discussing the men and women who serve your community every day to the best of their ability.
We ought to be rewarding our employees who present extra sources of revenue, increased efficiencies or cost savings, not shame or humiliate them in public.
Councilor Swanton owes Chief Beaupre a public apology, and the city council ought to take that $2,100 and direct it to bringing Chris Herren for a speaking engagement at Biddeford High School.
The city of Biddeford takes its politics seriously. Elections in this city are complex and vibrant, and they too often reveal a community at odds with itself.
Biddeford is a city in transition during difficult economic times. It is a city brimming with potential and possibility, yet it too often remains as one of its own worst enemies.
With another local election season now behind us, it is clear that there are lessons to be learned.
Of the 29 candidates who placed their names on the ballot, only five of them were political newcomers. This year’s ballot was hardly a composite reflection of this city in transformation.
Biddeford’s demographics are rapidly changing. We are attracting new interest and economic investment. We boldly stood up and put an end to burning regional trash in our downtown because we refused to be afraid. We refused to settle for scraps or to believe that was the best we could do for our local economy.
Biddeford recently competed against nine other southern Maine communities and overwhelmingly won a challenge by collecting more than 40,000 pounds of food and donations for the Good Shepard Food Pantry, a result that was more than twice what the second-place finisher was able to deliver.
People in Biddeford are generous. People in Biddeford are hard-working. Biddeford voters have consistently and overwhelmingly supported its local schools, never rejecting investments in public education, even when the economy is at its worst. Our community is far more than the challenges facing our downtown area.
So, why do so few people step up and offer themselves as potential city leaders?
Rebel, Rebel
Most reasonable, normal people loathe the shenanigans that are too often substituted for serious public policy discourse in this city. They have neither the time nor the inclination to suffer through the ad-hominem attacks of local politics, nor the charade of egos masquerading as civic duty. They have more important things to do with their time: their families, their careers or volunteering in civic organizations.
Reasonable people do not have the patience to endure a public process that grinds at a snail’s pace and requires suffering fools with patience. Who could blame them? If we want more people to get involved, we have to set a better tone.
Sure, every community has its own collection of rabble-rousers and malcontents: people who thrive on complaining and negativity.
It’s no different in Biddeford. But what these malcontents and rabble-rousers can’t seem to grasp is that they are grossly out of touch with their larger community. Instead they hide in the shadows, surrounded by their half-dozen fellow malcontents and bitch, and moan, and whine, and bitch, and moan . . .
Over the last few years, Biddeford’s voters have consistently and loudly rejected these errand boys of despair. Biddeford voters are smart enough to see through the half-assed games and political machinations orchestrated by a handful of people who so desperately seek attention.
I spent a fair amount of time in my early adult years working in restaurants. It’s hard work. It’s noble work. I learned some very valuable life lessons while scrubbing pots and pans, slicing tomatoes, flipping burgers, pouring drinks and serving people who had far more money than me.
But today any short-order cook with an internet connection can set up shop as a self-described pundit.
This is the struggle between old media and new media. This is the struggle of modern-day political campaigns. Journalism used to mean something; and juvenile bloggers often forget that public commentary is important and a reflection of something much larger than their desperate need to be noticed.
Sure, every voice matters and every voice should be heard, but whether you’re a short-order cook or a television salesman, you ought to carefully consider the damage you can cause by lowering the bar of civil discourse. You ought to consider what picture you’re painting about your hometown for the world to see.
World Leader Pretend
Enough about the wannabe journalists. What about the wannabe world leaders?
Former Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey lost her third consecutive election last night. She gathered just 25 percent of the vote, losing her challenge by a 2-1 margin. Two years ago, voters ousted her from office with just 37.5 percent of the vote. Last year, voters rejected her bid to return to the Maine Legislature.
If Joanne Twomey’s election trends were a hospital chart, it would be time to call the family priest. Two years ago, after learning of her defeat. Twomey told reporters: “The people don’t deserve me.” Funny thing is, I completely agree.
Joanne has become a sad and pathetic caricature of herself. Her veneer has long since worn off. The voters see her clearly as vindictive and ego-centric. She keeps an enemies list and she will say or do whatever she needs to draw attention to herself under the guise of “it’s for the people.”
In 2009, just days before her election for a second term as mayor, she orchestrated a press conference to announce she had negotiated a deal to stop burning trash in the downtown area. She publicly hugged MERC representatives in front of the television cameras. People throughout the city were excited. Joanne had figured out a way forward. She easily won that election (the only time in her political career when she received more than 50 percent of the vote).
But a few days later, after securing her election, Twomey did a 180 and walked away from the negotiating table. She was passionately opposed to casinos, but then happy to jump in bed with a casino developer when she thought it would help get her re-elected.
Has Twomey learned that Biddeford’s voters are smarter than she gives them credit for?
Joanne Twomey is a Biddeford native who started her political career with the best of intentions. In the 1970s, former mayor Gilbert Boucher created a lasting legacy by keeping Biddeford’s beaches open to the public. Twomey fought to keep more open land available for all residents in the face of increasing sprawl, development and neighborhood gentrification.
But somewhere along the way she became bitter and jaded. She was corrupted by the thrill of political power and became everything that she once so adamantly opposed: a self-serving politician with an enemies list who would not tolerate anything less than complete conformity with her ideas.
Joanne Twomey could learn a lesson from Perry Aberle, the other mayoral candidate who finished third in the three-way race. As the results were announced, Aberle took a deep breath, left his supporters behind and walked over to Alan Casavant’s election party. He held his head high, shook hands with the mayor and congratulated him for his success.
Twomey, however, has yet to concede her first loss to Casavant in 2011. She sulked and cried, and stormed and raged. She was a victim. Once again, it was about her, not about Biddeford. She was the only living mayor who refused to attend Casavant’s inauguration.
Thus, Joanne Twomey is in a tough spot. She doesn’t understand how to win, and she doesn’t know how to lose. That’s just sad.
While a handful of folks have put a lot of energy into telling the world who not to vote for, I decided to share who I am going to vote for in Biddeford’s municipal election on Tuesday.
All of the 29 candidates on the ballot deserve our thanks and appreciation for their willingness to step up to the plate and serve their community. It’s not an easy job. It’s a thankless, time-consuming endeavor that comes with criticism at every turn.
It’s not just one meeting every other Tuesday night (as if those are not long enough); the job also requires hundreds of hours attending various committee meetings and workshops. The pay is lousy, the hours are long and there is no glory in serving one’s community.
Here are the folks I will be voting for.
Mayor Alan Casavant
Mayor: Alan Casavant. Although he is not a perfect candidate (there is no such thing as a perfect candidate) he is the clear choice for another term. His administration has moved Biddeford forward toward a brighter, more prosperous future.
Yes, taxes have increased. Why?
1.) Two years ago, we needed to start repaying the $35 million bond that voters approved under the previous administration. I supported that bond because our high school desperately needed the renovations that were stalled for years and years because too few politicians had the guts to tell folks we needed this investment. We stalled. We argued.
The needed repair list got longer and more expensive. We kept arguing right past the deadline for state funds that would have cushioned the blow for local property taxpayers like you and me, Those bond repayments began in 2011, just as Alan Casavant was beginning his first term as mayor.
2.) As Casavant began the second year of his two-year term, the state opted to shift portions of its budget back onto local communities. Our mayor and city council struggled to absorb these cuts without cutting services that residents want and expect.
Mayor Casavant and the city council were able to finally solve Biddeford’s long-term problems with the controversial MERC trash incinerator. The city spent a lot of money, time and resources in trying to address resident and business concerns associated with MERC over 30 years.
MERC was forced to close because CMP did not renew its electricity purchase agreements. The loss of those contracts devalued MERC’s worth and tax rate. The city saw an opportunity to purchase the eight acres of riverfront land at a fraction of its worth. The city is now poised to attract new development to its downtown area.
How are we paying for that purchase? By a slight increase in tipping fees (waste disposal costs) from $45/ton to $55/ton (approximately) still some of the lowest tipping fees anywhere in southern Maine. The deal also provided the city of Biddeford an opportunity to begin a curbside recycling program, which is already saving tax dollars by reducing the amount of trash that needs to be disposed of.
Roch Angers
In the at-large council races, voters have six qualified candidates hoping for one of two seats on the council.
I will be voting to re-elect Roch Angers. Roch represents the city well. He understands its dynamics and is deeply connected to the community he serves. He is old-school Biddeford politics; a careful eye on the budget and a cautious skeptic.
On the other hand, I will also be voting for Daniel Parenteau for the other at-large seat. Like many of my neighbors and friends, I believe the city needs a fresh perspective and some new blood on the council.
Parenteau is one of only five new faces seeking election in Biddeford. He has a vision for the city. He is thoughtful and purposeful. He will provide a good balance to the council. He is a man motivated more by vision than fear.
Daniel Parenteau
Our city needs that.
Regardless of who you are supporting, please join me in voting on November 5. It is our civic duty and our responsibility as members of a community.
As he always does, General Wallace Nutting answered the door with a grin and his blue eyes sparkling.
We agreed to meet at his home, and he apologized for “being a bit disheveled.” He had just finished his daily workout, and was still wearing his workout sweats.
He is 85 years old.
To be in the same room with Gen. Wallace Nutting is simultaneously inspiring and intimidating.
This is a man who graduated from West Point and then spent a lifetime in service to his nation, his community and his family. As always, his wonderfully sweet wife, Jane, was standing beside him. They have been married for 62 years, longer than most of us have been alive.
Nutting is a four-star general. He is undeniably proud of his career, which included serving as commander of the U.S. Southern Command and as an advisor to President Ronald Reagan during a stint with the Pentagon. His modest condominium is adorned with mementos of his career, a living, breathing museum of an exemplary life lived with distinction.
But I was not there to talk about his distinguished military career.
It was just about 10 years ago, when Nutting was elected as Biddeford’s mayor. In many ways, he was an unlikely candidate: a Republican, protestant in a city chock full of Democratic Catholics. He once championed the secession of Biddeford Pool.
For a man who had spent the bulk of his life on battlefields all over the globe; life and death situations that required the execution of expert strategy, he was like a fish out of water when it came to Biddeford politics. He had previously lost a state senate bid a few years before, and it seemed like he fumbled his way into the mayor’s race.
But he won that election in a three-way race against two more traditional candidates.
Two years later, in 2005, he opted to seek a second term and for the first time in a very long time, the city of Biddeford had a mayoral election with just one candidate.
Today, some 10 years after he was first elected to office, Nutting remains as one of the city’s most popular and beloved mayors.
In 2011, Mayor Alan Casavant asked me to serve as the Master of Ceremonies at his inaugural. As part of that ceremony, I asked the audience to recognize and thank the city’s previous mayors who were in attendance that evening: Robert Farley, James Grattelo, Donna Dion and Nutting.
As I called out their names one at a time, each received appreciative applause from the packed audience at City Theater. But when I spoke Nutting’s name, a bolt of electricity shot through the room with wild cheers and a standing ovation.
I wondered that night what made Nutting so popular? How had he achieved such support from his hometown?
And then I recalled an interview I conducted with him shortly after his first election. I asked him what he attributed to his unlikely election as Biddeford’s mayor:
“People have told me that they feel as if I speak with sincerity, truth,” he said. “I articulated my message positively. You have to radiate integrity. You don’t lead soldiers into battle in a half-assed manner.”
I find it sad that so many of can so quickly gravitate toward negativity; toward tearing down the ideas and the people with whom we disagree.
Driving away from Nutting’s home, I reflected on his words and his familiar trademark quote: “One should always be prepared to answer the call when one is asked to serve.” Nutting has volunteered for countless non-profits. He has been a champion for education and community service. He has lived his life with honor and distinction.
We should all aspire to be a bit more like Wallace Nutting, ready to serve, full of optimism and positive energy.
You don’t need an impressive resume or four-stars on your epaulet to be a role model and a community leader. You don’t need to graduate from West Point or be a trusted advisor to world leaders. You can lead by simply being positive and by a willingness to serve when asked.
In so many ways, Mayor Alan Casavant and former Mayor Wallace Nutting are very different men, but when it comes to community service, integrity, honor and a commitment to serving others, it is easy to understand that both men are true leaders, and it becomes crystal clear why Casavant is the clear choice to lead our community for another two years.
Obviously, there are a lot of correlations between politics and football.
In both, I have been little more than a spectator. I know my limitations, but I admire those who suit up, take the field and are willing to take some hard hits to accomplish their objective.
Today our community celebrates the annual Battle of the Bridge, the longstanding and sometimes intense high school football rivalry between Biddeford High School and Thornton Academy in Saco.
I have lived in both communities. My passport is worn and tattered from so many trips across that bridge.
In so many ways Biddeford and Saco are one community; one regional economic engine. Most of us have family, friends and neighbors on both sides of the Saco River.
But today, we must choose sides. Today, we will be rooting for one team, despite whatever complications come from a dual citizenship or allegiance to Thornton or BHS.
There are some historic overtones associated with today’s game.
In the early 1920s, the Klu Klux Klan organized a rally and march in Saco. While the KKK is better known as belligerent, asinine racists, they also don’t care much for Catholics, especially those foreign Catholics who were working in the mill buildings across the river.
The men in white sheets, which reportedly included the mayor of Saco, gathered near the former Mutual Theater on Main Street in Saco. The old theater was being relocated across the street and its former home was being renovated and soon would become Most Holy Trinity Church.
Although the cowardly protestors planned to march down York Hill and across the bridge into the neighboring city of Biddeford, things did not go exactly as planned.
The dozens of KKK members, garbed in their white sheets, proceeded down York Hill, turning the corner toward the bridge and then suddenly froze in their tracks.
Waiting for them on that bridge was a contingent of Franco-Canadians, Greeks, Albanians and many others who refused to yield. These gritty, working-class men with their cheap clothes, worn shoes and funny accents were accompanied by a couple of pumper trucks from the Biddeford Fire Department, not to mention a contingent of police officers, farmers with pitchforks, fishermen with grappling hooks and dozens of men with steel bars and wooden bats.
Historical accounts are sketchy, but rumors persist that a shotgun or two could be spotted in the crowd of angry mill workers.
There was no bloodshed. No violence. There was only a few seconds of an eerie and lingering silence.
The KKK took a step back, pivoted 180 degrees and wisely marched back up the Hill toward Saco. And that was that.
They never made a second attempt to cross that bridge.
A lingering sense of envy and elitism
That battle of the bridge was a long time ago. Most of those wounds have healed but there is ample evidence to show that event had a lasting impression on both cities.
There is a strange dynamic of envy that still exists in Biddeford. On this side of the river, we too often tend to eat our own and tear down those among us who achieve even a modicum of success.
In Saco, there remains a lingering sense of elitism.
We don’t like to talk about it. We like to believe it is urban legend, an urban myth of bygone days. But it is there.
I recently interviewed Saco Mayor Mark Johnston. I have long admired Mark as a man never afraid to tell you exactly what he is thinking.
Sure, he is a politician. He knows and executes political strategy better than anyone I know. Mark can look you in the eye and say, “I have to raise taxes because it’s the right thing to do for our community,” shake your hand and count on your vote at the ballot box.
Mark acknowledged the air of elitism that exists in his community, but he also talked about his city proudly. He spoke about his neighbors in Biddeford with respect and admiration. He (and so many others) would like to see the cities work more cooperatively to solve mutual concerns and problems.
Today’s football game will be played with dignity, respect and a certain sense of appreciation.
Sure, on both sides of the field, there will be a bit of trash talk, but one team will go home and celebrate and the other will mutter “wait ’til next year” as it leaves the field.
Do it like this, or do it like that
There are two ways to play a football game. A good football game is intense, raw and fiercely competitive. But it is also played by a set of rules, spoken and unspoken.
It’s no different in politics.
In Biddeford, we take our football and politics seriously.
Over the last couple days, as we head into the final stretch of the local campaign season, we have witnessed some distinct differences between the candidates seeking the mayor’s seat in Biddeford.
One candidate has opted to drag my wife and youngest son into the campaign. Another candidate has spent the bulk of the last 24 hours scouring social media to tell the world about a perceived sense of injustice he is enduring and threatening to file a lawsuit against me simply because I am actively supporting one of his opponents.
The third candidate? The one I am supporting? He never talks about his opponents. He is focused like a laser on achieving progress in his community. He is sharing his ideas and enthusiasm and looking forward to the end zone.
If you were to awake from a coma, and have no access to any information except for Alan Casavant’s website or his Facebook page, you would never know he was being opposed. Instead, you would see a man who repeatedly talks about the potential of his community. You would see videos of him discussing the city’s needs and its limitations.
You would see photos and read words that capture his enthusiasm for Biddeford. You would see a positive and professional leader who has proven he can get big things done to help our city move forward.
I do not know who is going to win today’s game, nor do I know whether Mayor Casavant will be successful in his re-election bid.
Former Saco Mayor Mark Johnston/ Marlee Hayes photo
Something strange is about to happen on the other side of the Saco River. It’s as rare as a blue moon and perhaps more difficult to understand.
Mark Johnston will not be running for mayor in Saco.
Johnston, 61, says he has spent nearly 40 years in service to his community. Now, he says, it’s time to let someone else take the reins.
“I’m tired. I’m going to be 62, and now it’s time for Mark,” he said during a recent interview at his Main Street delicatessen, which is often mistaken as City Hall with an amazing selection of wines and good sandwiches.
Johnston came into the world of politics in the usual way: He was a malcontent, a young man worried about a used car lot that was planned near his home.
That was nearly 40 years ago, when he was appointed to the Saco Zoning Board of Appeals. His political career would extend over the next four decades and he served under five different mayors, including Sam Zaitlin, Paul Jansen, Haley Booth, Fred Clark and Eric Cote. He also served on the planning board and the city council.
Of course, Johnston also served as the city’s mayor for the better part of two decades, beginning in 1989 with four consecutive terms that ended in 1997. Six years later, in 2003 he was again elected as the city’s mayor and served another three terms, 2003-2007; and 2011-2013.
Every time his name was on the ballot he easily won his election . . . except the first time.
Despite the fact that he was unopposed and his name was the only one on the ballot, Johnston was forced to sue the city in order to become its mayor because he did not get enough votes to meet the criteria of a provision in the city’s charter.
A superior court judge sided with the politician over the city, but Johnston did not escape unscathed. He was mocked on national television by David Letterman and Jay Leno.
Round and round
Johnston runs Vic & Whit’s with his ex-wife, Beth. They have been divorced 25 years but seem to have a successful working relationship.
He’s Bugsy Seigel, Charlie Lucianno and Meyer Lansky all rolled into one affable, near-sighted man with an uncanny resemblance to Sir Elton John.
______
This is not the first time you announced that you were stepping down from politics. You always seem to come back for more?
(Laughs) “I really meant it the last time, but I had to come back to correct some very serious mistakes that were made during the Ron Michaud Administration. My intent (in 2011) was to correct those mistakes: our bond rating was lowered, the city had blown through its reserve balances. It was a lot of smoke and mirrors because no one had the courage to raise taxes slightly in order to keep up with very basic infrastructure.”
Are you leaving now because people are angry about significant tax hikes?
“No. I think most people understand the position we were facing. It’s not easy to raise taxes, even a little bit. But leaders are not elected to do easy things. Leaders are elected to lead.”
What was your proudest moment as mayor?
“The train station, hands down. We were entering a new century and thinking about new transportation. Passenger rail had long been abandoned, but having it come back has paid huge dividends for Saco. It really redefined this community. We have people who live here because of the train and such easy access to their jobs in Boston.”
You told residents it would not cost ‘one red cent’ in taxes. That didn’t quite work out, did it?
(Laughs) “People misunderstood me. I said not one red cent, it ended up being a whole lot of red cents. But seriously, this has become a huge asset for our community. We wanted to embrace it. A lot of things changed in midstream. None of us knew then that Guilford Rail was going to require us to have a $250 million liability policy. But we were able to use the Saco Island TIF and revenues from the MERC settlement and rental fees from the Chamber of Commerce.
“I am very proud of that station. It was the first green station built in the United States. It has geo-thermal heating; and the roof was made with a composite material from recyclables. It meets every standard of LEED certification. It was built by all Maine contractors, with wood beams from Maine forests.”
And the wind turbine
“I’ll take all the fault for that. It’s not the one I wanted, but I couldn’t get the council to approve the one I wanted. What we have is basically a kit that cost us $250,000. I wanted the million dollar one, which would have been much taller and as a result much more efficient.
“The council didn’t want to spend $10,000 for a wind survey study. But what we have is iconic, and it sends a message about our community: we are embracing the future, we are recognizing that we must wean ourselves off fossil fuels.”
What was the worst moment of your time as mayor?
(Pauses) “It happened roughly three minutes after I was sworn in for my very first term, when I publicly fired the city attorney (Mary Kahl). She was a good attorney, but I thought she was interfering too much in the city’s day-to-day business. She ended up going to work for the city of South Portland. I don’t regret what I did, but I deeply regret the way I did it.
“I humiliated her in public, and that’s not leadership. That’s not how you should treat people. We were able to be civil, but the wounds never healed. Unfortunately, she passed away a while ago, and I don’t know if she ever forgave me. I was young and brash, but I learned a valuable lesson: always be willing to talk to those with whom you disagree. Never embarrass or humiliate someone in the public arena.”
Who do you think will be Saco’s next mayor?
(Smiles) “All I can say is that I will have to work with whoever becomes the next mayor.”
Ok, so who do you think will be Biddeford’s next mayor?
“Alan Casavant. He is an outstanding leader; a leader for the future. He is helping Biddeford make huge strides forward. He is also professional, calm and always a gentleman; all those tiny words that define character.”
Who was your favorite Biddeford mayor?
“Roger Normand. He was a man of integrity. He was a normal, average guy who never let the power of being mayor go to his head.”
Do you think there should be term limits for mayors and city councilors?
“Yes. Absolutely. After four terms, it’s time for a change. It’s too easy to get cocky.”
What are your thoughts about the RSU 23 issue, considering some in Saco are advocating for leaving the regional school district?
“I’m a little disappointed by the way some members of our community have acted during this debate. I think it’s a disgrace that some folks have called Old Orchard Beach residents “free-loaders.” RSU 23 has failed because of Saco’s penchant for elitism. We never talked about test scores, we never talked about how to bring teachers up through the ranks. We never talked about the important stuff. I want Thornton Academy to have the test scores that Scarborough is getting, and stop hiding behind the façade of a beautiful campus.”
Elitism in Saco?
“Yes, without a doubt. I grew up on Middle Street, a neighborhood that was known as Little Greece. Many of those people from that neighborhood became important and respected members of our community, civic leaders. It’s like we never got beyond the days of the “Battle of the Bridge.” Why do we still use that name? We never used it when Thornton played St. Louis. There has always been a false air of superiority in Saco. It’s been here a long time.”
What advice would you give to the city’s next mayor?
“Talk less and listen more.”
What will be your legacy?
“The elimination of Maine Energy. It took a long time, but I helped (and so did a lot of other people) keep the pressure on. Joanne Twomey and others never let up the pressure. I honestly never thought I would see the day. I am so proud of what Mayor Casavant and the Biddeford City Council did. That took leadership and vision, but they were not alone. A lot of people helped set the stage for finally getting MERC gone.”
So, will you be back as mayor?
“No, I really don’t think so. I have a new woman in my life, and it’s turning into something special. I was mayor when I got divorced, when I had a granddaughter, when one of my sons went to the battlefield. I’ve given a lot to this city. It’s time for me to take some time for myself and my family.”
Every voice matters. Even the voices that have a hard time crafting their message.
As my hometown of Biddeford braces for another political season, one of our city’s mayoral candidates has opted to take his message to cyberspace by starting a blog. The blog seems intended as a platform to champion the plight of the under-served and to highlight this candidate’s economic development plan: a push to “legalize weed.”
If nothing else, Karl Reed, Jr. has a unique strategy for ousting the incumbent:
He’s running a write-in campaign, otherwise known as a sure-fire way to place fourth in a three-way race.
Okay, so once you get past the horrid sentence structure, the author’s inability to spell or the grammar that would cause a third-grade English teacher to set herself on fire, Reed’s intent should not be ignored by those who serve their community. See: Game Over, The Rent is too high.
In his initial post, Reed paints a sympathetic tale of those who are often ignored at the monthly Rotary Club breakfast meeting or the Chamber of Commerce “after hours” event.
He is speaking from the heart, a place more politicians should visit. He is a self-appointed champion of those without a voice, those who are too often discounted . . . those whom many of us ignore blissfully.
Karl worries that our public education system too often fails the kids on the edge of society. He worries that the people he encounters every day on the street may no longer be able to cope under the weight of a dismal economy and a lack of jobs.
These are important messages, an amateur-hour version of the Occupy Wall Street theme: full of sound and fury, completely aimless and an unyielding rage against “the man.”
It’s too easy to ignore it unless you have lived it.
Despite my sympathy and appreciation of his perspective, his rage and angst give me serious pause. Thus, I have no problem confessing that I will sleep better tonight, knowing his name will not be on the ballot in November.
LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY 