Many moons ago, Mick Jagger and the boys made a whole lot of money singing about a lack of satisfaction.
But on this particular weekend, I am feeling nothing but satisfaction, patting myself on the back for a job well done and celebrating the one-year anniversary of when former Biddeford City Manager James Bennett finally ran out of excuses and found himself no longer able to play the proverbial victim card.
Former Biddeford City Manager James Bennett performing as a Shriner’s clown
Yup, it was one year ago, when Bennett found his back against the wall. The growing public pressure had grown to a critical mass. Even Mayor Marty Grohman and former mayor Alan Casavant could no longer defend the egomaniacal tyrant who ran City Hall as his own personal kingdom.
Looking back over the course of my career in journalism and public relations, there are a few professional achievements that stand out. Moments when I can say, “yeah, I did that.’ Moments that still bring me a sense of pride and the satisfaction of a job well done.
Getting Jim Bennett out of City Hall was one of those moments.
I had absolutely nothing to gain by dedicating myself to Bennett’s ouster. I was not being paid. In fact, I had to give up being a reporter for a few months to avoid a glaring conflict of interest.
I created The Bennett Files and was relentless, hammering away almost daily at the city manager cloistered in his fortress of solitude at City Hall. I interviewed people across the state. I pored over media reports that followed Bennett’s 40-year-career in eight different communities. I filed FOIAs. I pressured city councilors.
I was dogged and relentless. I was a man on a mission.
What drove me was the stories people shared with me. I heard from municipal officials from all over Maine. I heard from investors who were considering business deals with the city of Biddeford. I heard from former employees and current employees. Current and former city councilors. The stories were always the same.
I remember meeting with one employee in my backyard. They were shaking and on the verge of tears while telling me an all-too familiar story. We were meeting in my back yard because this person feared that Bennett would fire them if he found out they were talking to a reporter.
Marty Grohman was not happy with me. He pulled me aside at a Chamber of Commerce event in July 2024. He was frustrated. “Why are you doing this to me?” he asked, trying to defend the city manager who seems to leave every job he’s held under a cloud of doubt.
It’s no secret that former mayor Casavant and I are good friends. I ran Alan’s campaign in 2011 and 2013. We’re still friends, but that friendship was strained because Alan was one of Bennett’s biggest supporters. In fact, Alan made it a priority to consistently push for Bennett’s contract to be extended in three-year increments.
I risked friendships and a job in my pursuit of getting Bennett out of Biddeford.
I risked friendships and a job in my pursuit of getting Bennett out of Biddeford.
And now — one year later — I can tell you with confidence that it was worth it.
Truc Dever, Biddeford’s new city manager, is a breath of fresh air. She is the exact opposite of Bennett. She is curious and she listens. She is friendly and transparent. She does not run rough-shod over the council. She is accountable and ready to lead. She is a coach, not a bully.
I swear to God, you can almost literally feel the difference when you walk into City Hall today.
Sadly, Dever, Grohman and many others are still cleaning up the mess that Bennett left behind more than eight months ago. The city finally showed some courage and showed Bennett the door on February 20, two months ahead of his “phased” resignation.
Bennett did NOT retire. He resigned in the middle of his contract, leaving a $15,000 retention payment on the table.
He had no choice. He was finally exposed, leaving the city’s finances in disrepair with a blistering report from financial auditors.
Bennett has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that the city violated his contract. The city answered by pointing out several questionable things that Bennett did during his stint in Biddeford.
Make no mistake. Jim Bennett has big balls. Unfortunately, taxpayers — you and me — are still paying for his mistakes, mismanagement and out-of-control ego.
But let’s focus on the good news, Jim Bennett is finally gone.
You’re welcome.
Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com
c.) 2025 All Rights Reserved
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Although he wears many hats, Richard Rhames of Biddeford could probably best be described with just three words: authentic, passionate and persistent.
Rhames, 78, is a well-known commodity at City Hall. He is an outspoken member of the public, a former city councilor and a tireless member of the both the city’s Conservation Commission and Cable Television Committee.
Richard Rhames/ Seaver photo
Over the last four decades, Rhames has developed a reputation as someone who means what he says, and says what he means. He rarely pulls punches when criticizing local leaders and their policies; and he is always willing to fight even when he knows the odds are insurmountably stacked against him.
Today, Richard and wife Pat own and operate Shady Brook Farm on outer West Street. That 80-acre farm has been in Rhames’ family for three generations, and the land represents one of the last family-owned farms in the area.
Rhames, who serves as president of the Saco Valley Land Trust, laments the loss of small farms, but keeps his hands firmly on the plow in a time when farming has pretty much become a corporate enterprise.
“If farming was easy, everyone would do it,” he said with a wry grin. “Let me assure you, nothing about farming is easy.”
To the casual observer, it seems that Rhames is always willing to do things the hard way. He dismisses the notion of going along to get along.
Sticking to his principles and beliefs has cost Richard some friends and his seat at the table of local power, where he was widely considered a thorn-in-the side of the Chamber of Commerce types.
Richard was an at-large member of the Biddeford City Council when the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred. Within days, the council had decided to place miniature American flags along the council dais. There was one flag in front of each councilor.
At the beginning of the next council meeting, Rhames used his arm to move the flag to his side as he was spreading out paperwork. A fellow city councilor expressed outrage, and a reporter from the Journal Tribune wrote that Rhames had “shoved the flag away.”
The public was largely unforgiving. It was a time of hyper-patriotism and there was little tolerance for anything deemed to be “un-American.”
Rhames had already been long criticized for his questioning of U.S. policies in the Middle East, including Iraq. He was unapologetic. Just a few weeks later, Biddeford voters showed him the door.
“I never shoved the flag,” he said. “But the damage was done. The political class was not happy with me, and they gladly grabbed onto a piece of red meat.”
Rhames never stopped sharing his political views. He wrote a regular column in both the Journal Tribune and the Biddeford-Saco Courier. Much of his written work focused on labor issues, workers’ rights and conservation issues.
He is a long-time advocate for single-payer healthcare and says if the city is serious about the issue of affordable housing, the best weapon to bring to that fight is municipally-mandated rent control.
He is also a fairly well-known musician, playing rhythm guitar with two different bands throughout the area.
What got you involved in local government?
“It was the airport. Back in the ‘70s, they started pushing a plan to build a cross-wind runway. They intended to buy the George Fogg property, which was between the paved part of Granite Street Extension and the town line. That’s always been the wet dream – – the cross-wind runway.
“I started going to Planning Board meetings and council meetings. I was probably the only guy in town who had actually read the master plan. I mean, who are we kidding? Master plan? Fuck that. It was supposed to be a done deal. The powerful people, the people with connections; it was what they wanted.
“Because Mayor [Babe] Dutremble was pissed that some of his political friends had been moving forward behind his back, he shut it down all by himself. It was in the papers, the York County Coast Star and the Journal.
“Then about 10 years later, in the mid-1980s, it came back again, with a vengeance. The new plan was even more grandiose. It would have Biddeford become a reliever for the Portland Jetport. We were going to get the freight shipments; it would have included 60,000-pound aircraft. They dream big, here in Biddeford. The FAA loved it, you know? And they thought they had it.
“We fought it. They wanted to change the zone to Industrial. That’s back when wetlands were just dismissed as swamps. We got some other people riled up and involved, and at one of our first neighborhood meetings we came up with a name at the supper table: NOISE (Neighbors Organized In Stopping Expansion).”
You have often complained about the fact that there is so little public participation in city meetings.
“In order to know what’s going on, you got to be there all the fucking time. And you’ve got to have no life, which is ideal for me. (Laughs)
But it’s not just local issues that get you fired up.
“Yeah, well you know. If I’m pissed about something, I’m going to stand up and say something. I don’t know any other way to be. I have this bad attitude, right?
“When I was younger, I could have gone back to teaching (public school). I was no longer 1A. I didn’t have to fight the draft anymore. When I grew up, I remember watching television and all the incessant propaganda. The whole mantra: the Russians are coming; the Russians are coming. The constant beating of the drum. The propaganda. The free world.
“I grew up in the ‘60s. I mean we were all drinking from the same propaganda trough, but it was the draft that literally forced a lot of young people to start recognizing what was happening, even though I went to a little white-bread Midwest college.
“I was as unquestioning as anyone else back then, until all this shit started happening. We had access to libraries and learning opportunities. We did this bus caravan thing. We went to Midland, Michigan, the home of Dow Chemical.
“We were all white bread kids; nobody had long hair; we were wearing suits at the march and the locals hated us because we had a rally in the park (Laughs).
“But we were earnest, and we had been looking into this a little bit. Most of us had some idea about the history of southeast Asia; how we took over for France in Vietnam. There was a history there that the newspapers never reported, but we came to understand that it was really fucked up; and why would anybody want to die for that?
“But to openly resist meant costs. Most of us were banking on what we were taught since elementary school: that we had some kind of career waiting for us in regular society.”
Do you ever get tired of fighting the good fight?
“I’m pissed, and I have been pissed for a long time. I don’t find that hope is terribly motivating. You gotta be pissed. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t right what we did on the grand scale.
“Even today, as much as the whole thing in Palestine is wrong, the Israelis, the Zionists, are pikers compared to the United States of America. The body count that we have rung up during my lifetime is really fucking impressive.
“Nobody talks about it, but if you want somebody killed, call us. We’ll either provide you with the weapons; better yet, we’ll do it ourselves. We’re really good at that. Spending a trillion dollars a year on the military? That’s easy.
“But if you speak up, they come after you. It’s dangerous, Randy. Why did they come after me the way they did after 9/11? Why have they come after me, including you, . . . why was I such a target? You know? This unassuming clodhopper with the big words and all that shit, you know? Why was I the target?
“Because I was willing to stand up and say this shit.”
What do you think about all the changes as Biddeford becomes a destination community?
“We were last in line. We had the incinerator [MERC]. They stopped pulping in Westbrook and that city began to gentrify almost immediately, and Westbrook isn’t placed nearly as well as we are. Against all the political odds . . . and the only reason that we got rid of the incinerator is because they wanted to leave . . . they [Casella Waste Systems] were ready to go.
“It always kills me, I guess it shouldn’t — when Alan [Casavant] expresses surprise, disbelieving; and talks about how quickly the shift started, how much things changed once we got rid of MERC. It would have happened anyway, but you had this whole Heart of Biddeford gentrifying, national advertising campaign. The whitewashing of Biddeford culture.
“We created a myth of what Biddeford is in order to entice new people to come here and exploit us, which they are doing.
“But we haven’t learned. The political class is still bending over backwards to subsidize private development.
“I keep telling them: Isn’t it time to pump the brakes a little? You don’t have to beg people to come here anymore. There’s no incinerator anymore. We’ve got all this ocean frontage, river frontage and all these old buildings from when Biddeford was the Detroit of New England.”
You are one of the most strident and vocal supporters of public access community television, even as the city slides further away from televised meetings to online forums.
“When we started with public access, there was some good stuff on the channel, but the political class was always uncomfortable. It frightened them because they couldn’t control the message.
“We used media for public education, to pull back the curtain and give information that you really couldn’t find anywhere else. It was good stuff, and I was never home.
“We were doing advocacy for ordinary people. You don’t generally find that on the airwaves. Who wants to do research to make a point? T.V. is something done to you now.”
Any thoughts on running for office again?
(Sighs) “I’m too old. My time is over. I understand how the world works. I’m not the one. I’m just not the one.”
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Although the University of New England earlier this month formally submitted its plan to build a new pier on the Saco River, that plan still remains mired in controversy.
Both the university (UNE) and Biddeford’s harbormaster seem to have their heels dug in regarding how the pier should be built.
Before the pier can be built, the plan must first be approved by the city of Biddeford’s harbormaster. The plan will then also require review and approval by several other agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Saco River Corridor Commission.
As of press time, it remains unclear how the city will be able to review the proposal because City Manager James Bennett removed both the city’s harbormaster and assistant harbormaster from the review process in May.
Bennett said he removed the harbormasters because he felt they were biased and would not be able to objectively review the application.
In May, Bennett said he would appoint a harbormaster “Pro-Tem,” specifically for reviewing the university’s plan. Last week, Bennett told Saco Bay News he has not yet been able to find a temporary harbormaster to review UNE’s proposal.
“It is taking a bit longer than I anticipated, but we are going to continue our search in order to ensure that the university’s proposal is handled fairly and objectively,” Bennett said. “There are not a lot of people with that kind of experience. So, we need to go back to the drawing board.”
According to documents obtained by Saco Bay News, Bennett reached out to and was then rebuffed by the Maine Harbormasters’ Association when he asked that agency for guidance and suggestions about someone who could review the university’s proposal.
In a June 4 email response to Bennett’s inquiry, Daryen Granata of the Maine Harbormasters’ Association, said Bennett’s desire to appoint a temporary harbormaster was “unprecedented” and would likely be a violation of state law.
“Our board is unaware of any precedent for such a position,” Granata wrote. “Review of the relevant state law contains no provision regarding such a position. To do so would be inconsistent with the explicit state law.”
“The Maine Harbormasters Association discourages you from pursuing a ‘protem’ harbormaster as it is inconsistent with the prevailing law. Instead, we recommend that you work within the review hierarchy laid out in your harbor ordinance.”
Bennett said both he and city attorney Harry Center disagree with the legal opinion given by the association.
Bennett would not say whether he contacted Saco’s harbormaster to help review the application.
Dan Chadbourne, Saco’s harbormaster, said he was told that he should not comment on the controversy surrounding UNE’s proposed pier.
“All I can say is that channel is a joint jurisdiction between the cities of Biddeford and Saco,” Chadbourne said. “At some point, the city of Saco will be involved.”
Why the controversy?
UNE wants to build a pier jutting away from the shore in a perpendicular design and into the channel with a T-shaped configuration. The new pier will be used to dock the university’s marine research vessel in close proximity to their Marine Sciences building on the Biddeford campus.
Biddeford Harbormaster Paul Lariviere said the university’s plan would have a significant impact on existing moorings, navigation and public access. Last year, he shared an alternative proposal with UNE officials.
Lariviere’s alternate design runs parallel to the shore, without jutting into the channel. The university has dismissed the alternate plan, raising concerns about water depth during low tide.
But Lariviere says water depth at low tide is actually deeper closer to the shore in that specific location.
Lariviere says he has nothing personal against the University of New England, and is not attempting to block their attempts to build a new pier for their research vessel.
“They [UNE] have been talking publicly about their plan to construct a new pier for a few years now,” Lariviere said. “My concern has always been about following existing laws, regulations and city ordinances. I took the time to do some research in order to offer them a plan that would better meet their needs and have fewer impacts on public access, navigation, existing moorings and water depth.”
While university representatives maintain that their design is the only one that will give them adequate water depth for docking their research vessel, Lariviere and others say that’s simply not true, pointing to recent data they collected.
“The way the river runs, they (UNE) would be much better off with the alternative I provided them,” Lariviere said. “At mean low tide, there is actually better depth closer to the shoreline than further out in the channel.
“Frankly I don’t understand their adamant objection to the alternative plan we developed,” Lariviere said. “It would probably cost them less money to build, meet all of their stated needs and offer better depth for their vessel. The alternative plan I showed them would have no impacts on existing moorings and would remove concerns about public access and navigation.”
Lariviere said that over the past several months, many people have asked him his thoughts about the university’s plans for a new pier.
“I have just been answering questions people asked me,” Lariviere said. “Of course, I told people that their plan – as presented – would never fly. It’s simply because their plan does not meet existing standards and regulations. It’s not bias. It’s common sense.”
What UNE Says
According to Sarah Delage, a spokesperson for the university, the university’s proposal was rigorously reviewed and designed by engineering and environmental consultants.
Delage said the location of the proposed pier was chosen after expert marine engineers looked at nine potential locations and considered potential impacts to mooring, navigation and environmental concerns.
In their application, the university altered the harbormaster’s proposal. Their design adopts a starting point at a shore location almost identical to what the harbormaster suggested. But the university presented a T-shaped perpendicular design that juts out from that starting point on shore well more than 150 feet into the river, at odds with the harbormaster’s recommendation.
Delage said the alteration was designed to point out the necessary depth that would be required for docking their research vessel.
Although Delage said “there is no physical map or design to represent” the harbormaster’s alternative, the university’s application does include a reconfigured drawing of the harbormaster’s alternative.
Delage says the university was first made aware of the harbormaster’s alternative during an informal meeting at City Hall in October 2023.
That meeting was attended by City Manager James Bennett, Harbormaster Paul Lariviere, UNE President James Hebert and John Schafer, chair of the Biddeford Harbor Commission.
“This was a verbal conversation,” Delage said. “The harbormaster never provided us with a physical alternative design.”
Based on the verbal feedback, Delage says the university then created a diagram of a pier in the location suggested by the Harbormaster to show what a pier would look like if it were designed to reach sufficiently deep water.
“With the assistance of the marine engineers, UNE understood that a pier hugging the shoreline would not reach deep enough water,” Delage said.
Lariviere disputes the claim regarding low tide depth, pointing out that he and several others conducted rigorous depth surveys in that location.
Furthermore, If the university were to adopt the harbormaster’s alternative, Delage said such a pier would have “to be about twice the size” of the alternate design that Schafer shared with the media.
Delage said the alternative plan would be more disruptive to the harbor and unable to accommodate both the university’s research vessel and the city’s fireboat.
“The bathymetric survey information relied on by the engineers to establish water depths comes from work done by Statewide Surveys in 2015,” Delage said.
Delage added that the shoreline elevations are further “corroborated by low-tide aerial imagery available from Maine Office of GIS and an additional imagery service used by GEI (Nearmap), which depict an intertidal zone along the shore, and the low-water location in close agreement with the location identified by on-the-ground land survey.”
Delage said the university’s research was summarily rejected by the harbormaster during another informal meeting at City Hall in January. She said that UNE’s design team and other staff, the city manager, City Councilor William Emhiser and Lariviere and Schafer all attended that meeting.
The cart before the horse?
Even before the regulatory review process has started, the university sought and received commitments of federal funding to help pay for the construction costs.
The university and city manager say that both Lariviere and Schaeffer should not have been making public comments about the proposed pier before the plan was even formally submitted.
Delage said there was a joint meeting of the Harbor Commission and the Shellfish Conservation Commission in February that was not publicly noticed.
“There was no agenda published, and no minutes are obtainable from the city’s website,” Delage said.
In addition to the lack of public notice, Delage says the university did not receive any notice of this meeting, despite the fact that their pier proposal would be discussed.
“Again, UNE has never received a drawing of any kind from the harbormaster specifying his preferred design and location,” Delage said.
Delage says that Schafer, chair of the city’s Harbor Commission, sent email messages to multiple people, including city councilors, indicating that he agreed with the harbor master.
Those actions are the basis of why Lariviere was removed from the review process, according to City Manager James Bennett and City Attorney Harry Center.
The Harbor Commission is the body to whom an applicant must appeal any adverse decision by the harbormaster, Center explained. “You simply cannot present yourself as able to review an application if you have already publicly stated an opinion about that application,” Center added.
“It is my professional opinion that the city would be unable to defend itself in a court hearing if the applicant decides to appeal a decision that was pre-determined before the application was submitted,” Center said.
Schafer said all meetings of the Harbor Commission are open to the public. He also said he rigorously prepares meeting agendas before each meeting and also provides minutes of every meeting to a long list of people at City Hall, including City Clerk Robin Patterson, the designated staff liaison for the Harbor Commission.
Schafer provided Saco Bay News with copies of emails he distributed before and after the joint Feb. 21 meeting with the Shellfish Commission.
“I specifically sent the detailed minutes of that meeting to a whole bunch of people,” Schafer said. “I am a strong supporter of open and transparent government. When I heard that UNE might be considering litigation against the city, I made it my mission to relay what our commission heard from the harbormaster at the Feb. 21 meeting.”
Schafer said every monthly meeting of the Biddeford Harbor Commission includes a standing agenda item entitled “Harbormaster Summary.”
“I had no idea what Paul [Lariviere] was going to say ahead of time,” Schafer said. “But I sure as heck made sure that everyone knew what he said during that meeting. We have never had a meeting without an agenda or detailed minutes.”
According to the meeting minutes that Schafer shared with Mayor Marty Grohman, all members of the city council, Police Chief JoAnn Fisk and the city clerk, Lariviere said he would not be able to approve UNE’s proposal simply because it did not conform to existing regulations.
“Yes, people have asked me questions and my opinion about the university’s plan,” Lariviere said. “There has been a lot of talk about this pier dating back to 2008. People have questions. I have been consistent with my response.”
During a prior interview with Saco Bay News, Alan Thibault, vice president of operations at UNE, said the university’s pier design was included in a master plan that was approved by the Biddeford Planning Board several years ago.
Delage says the university is only asking to have its proposal reviewed fairly and objectively, like any other applicant that goes to the city for an approval.
“No member of the community should have to be concerned that their applications would be rejected in advance,” Delage said.
If the harbor commission has already stated a position, any appeals by the university could be considered futile acts, Delage said.
“In my opinion, a lot of errors have been made,” Schafer said. “But I think it is absolutely critical to remind everyone that no one – – no one – has said that UNE cannot or should not have a new pier. This entire conversation is about where that new pier should be located. That’s it.”
Tensions about a proposed pier that the University of New England wants to construct on the Saco River prompted Biddeford City Manager James Bennett to remove the city’s harbormaster from the review process of UNE’s proposed pier.
The pending application from UNE has also prompted a former city councilor to raise his own concerns, demanding that the university addresses a “landfill with 23 buried cars” on the school’s campus near the Saco River.
In his May 22 letter to Harbormaster Paul Lariviere, Bennett said the harbormaster has been biased in his review of UNE’s proposal as evidenced by “several” public comments he has made outlining his steadfast objections to the project.
“These comments and other actions have raised the issue regarding your ability to perform your duties objectively,” Bennett wrote in his email to the harbormaster. “It is my conclusion that allowing you to be the administrative hearing officer on the anticipated application would be a mistake.”
Bennett has also removed the assistant harbormaster, Randy Desmaris, from the review process because he was “trained by” Lariviere.
“I am striving for complete fairness, Bennett told Saco Bay News, and I have to err on the side of abundant caution to protect the city, its representatives, residents and the applicant. My goal in all of this is to protect everyone and to ensure the fairest possible review of the application.”
Bennett says he will choose and appoint a special ‘Harbormaster Pro Tem’ for the sole purpose of hearing and deciding on the anticipated application from the university.
According to Alan Thibeault, vice president of operations at the University of New England (UNE), the university is expecting to submit its application directly to the city manager’s office within “the next few days.”
Thiebeault said the proposed pier, which would be located near the university’s Marine Sciences Center, is not something that was recently envisioned.
“This project has been discussed in various aspects for more than a decade,” Thibeault said, pointing out that the pier was part of the university’s master plan, which was first approved by the Biddeford Planning Board in 2008.
Thibeault described the proposed pier as a “vital part to our ongoing marine research program.” He said the university has spent several years rigorously evaluating at least nine different sites for the location of the new pier.
Before UNE can submit approval applications to any other agencies, the project must first be approved by the city’s harbormaster. Although approvals from the planning board, the state and even the federal government will be required, nothing can happen until the harbormaster grants approval.
Lariviere said his objections to the pier are based solely on well-established review criteria when a project could impact navigation, fishing or fowling in a federal channel. Lariviere says he developed an alternative plan for UNE’s pier, but says UNE has “made up its mind.”
At the base of his objections, Lariviere said UNE’s proposal would “encroach on existing moorings.”
Thibeault said he was aware of the harbormaster’s misgivings about the pier, but also said the university was “never presented with any objections or alternatives in writing” from the harbormaster.
Lariviere said he was deeply disappointed by Bennett’s decision and is especially irked by the city manager’s directive, which orders Lariviere “to make no further comments in this regard, public or private.”
Lariviere issued his own press release, and said he will not comply with Bennett’s “unconstitutional order.”
“Did either the mayor, the city attorney or any city councilor authorize the manager to order a Biddeford resident to keep his mouth shut about public business?” Lariviere asked.
Although he is still officially the city’s harbormaster, Lariviere described Bennett’s move as a “purge” on behalf of the university.
“I know Mr. Bennett is working hard for UNE, “Lariviere said. “But now that he’s executed his purge, who will look out for the people of Biddeford?”
Lariviere said he has been aware of UNE’s desire to have a pier on the Saco River since the idea was first discussed several years ago, but says for the time being he will make no further comment about the university’s plans.
“I do plan to be in touch with the mayor and the city council about Mr. Bennett’s attempt to intimidate me,” he said.
Asked what his next move will be, Lariviere shrugged his shoulders and said, “Right now, I don’t know.”
During a telephone interview Wednesday morning, Bennett defended his decision and said he had little choice in the matter. He stressed that the city could not afford even the appearance of impropriety. Bennett also said his removal of Lariviere was “not a disciplinary action, but rather a proactive move to make sure “that all persons, including the applicant, are treated fairly.”
What to do about an old landfill?
Meanwhile, UNE is now facing increasing pressure from a former Biddeford city councilor to address what he claims is a “former landfill with 23 buried automobiles” on the banks of Saco River.
Pieces of buried automobiles can be seen protruding from the shore along the Saco River, just below a parking lot at the University of New England in Biddeford. (Seaver photo)
Kyle Noble, a longtime Hills Beach resident and former city councilor, says the university should take “immediate steps” to remedy that site before any other pier proposals are considered for approval.
Earlier this year, Noble contacted the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to voice his concerns about the site where automobile tires, automotive fenders and other metallic pieces of scrap can be seen protruding from the ground below a parking lot.
According to both Noble and Thibeault, a representative from the DEP came to Biddeford earlier this year to inspect the area where it is obvious that scrap materials were used for fill decades ago.
Both Noble and Thibeault participated in the site walk, and both men say that the site walk did not seem to trigger any significant concerns by the DEP.
As of press time, representatives from the Maine DEP were unavailable for comment.
Thibeault says the university is not ignoring nor trying to “cover up anything about something that happened many, many years ago.”
In fact, Thibeault says the school is actively in the process of developing a remediation effort that will include creating a natural barrier between the landfill and the marshy area of the river bank.
“Frankly, I’m a bit perplexed by Mr. Noble’s press release,” Thibeault said. “He was with us during the site walk with the DEP. I think the timing of his press release is a bit questionable.”
But Noble said he sees the upcoming application for UNE’s new pier as an ideal time to address something that has been ignored for a long time.
“Given the university’s prominent role in trumpeting its own dedication to protecting the Saco River, I would like to respectfully suggest that UNE delay no longer and work diligently to remove the 23 cars that are buried just feet from the Saco River,” Noble wrote in a letter he sent this week to UNE president James Herbert.
Noble said he is not interested in retroactive fines or punishment, but wants to ensure that UNE will live up to its self-described status as a champion of the environment.
“I’ve held my tongue long enough waiting for the correct response,” Noble said. “Now I feel an obligation to let the people of Biddeford know about this. It’s been kept a secret too long.”
Noble said the cars were buried in a “makeshift landfill, unknown to almost all Biddeford residents, is near the town landing and owned by Biddeford citizens.”
Lariviere said he personally witnessed some cars being buried near the spot in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
“I’m not too concerned about the buried cars,” the harbormaster said. “But I am concerned that we observed pools of oil sheen on the water near that site during heavy rainfall events.”
Thibeault said the DEP has found no evidence of leaching materials, and said the agency did not consider the site to be a landfill. He did acknowledge that some erosion has occurred over the years, but stressed that any direct remediation effort could negatively impact the surrounding area.
“We can’t just go in and start digging up debris,” Thibeault said. “We are taking a more comprehensive approach, and we’ll be working closely with the DEP, the Saco River Corridor Commission and possibly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to address and remedy this issue.”
Town Versus Gown?
Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman said he supported the city manager’s decision. “It’s not something that any of us are thrilled about,” Grohman said. “But we have to ensure that everyone is treated the same, that everyone can get a fair hearing.”
Grohman acknowledged past tensions between the city and the university, saying many of the same tensions can be found in communities with college campuses, including Colby College in Waterville and Bates College in Lewiston.
“I think we have come a long way over the past few years,” Grohman said. “From where I sit, it appears me that the university is more than willing to work with us. We all know that relationship has not always been smooth, but I am reasonably confident that we can work together.”
Thibeault agreed with Grohman.
“We want to be an active and engaged neighbor in this community,” Thibeault said. “The university is absolutely committed to working with the city to address any concerns or issues. In my time here, I have seen tremendous progress over the last 30 years.”
For his part, Lariviere said he felt pushed by Bennett to approve UNE’s proposed pier.
“He called me on my cell phone after one of our meetings with UNE and asked ‘is there any way we can make this thing work?”
Bennett adamantly denies ever saying that or applying any pressure whatsoever for an approval from the harbormaster.
“I did remind him of his statutory duties and requirements, which are the same requirements that I have to follow as a city representative,” Bennett said.
Bennett said before making his decision he consulted the city’s attorney and extensively reviewed court cases in which municipalities lost legal battles because of allegations regarding bias and unfair treatment toward an applicant.
“My job is not always easy or pleasant,” Bennett said. “But it is my job to protect the city and to make that every member of our staff acts in full accordance with all federal, state and local regulations and ordinances. It’s not personal.”
If you ask Alan Casavant to describe his time as Biddeford’s mayor, he’ll tell you he used the same basic approach that he used as a high school teacher for more than 35 years.
Casavant, 71, is now completely retired as both a teacher and politician. He served 12 years (six consecutive terms) as the city’s mayor, first elected to that position in 2011. He also served four terms in the Maine Legislature as a state representative and served on the Biddeford City Council for 18 years, first elected in 1975.
Alan Casavant/ Seaver photo
He was born and raised in Biddeford and graduated from Biddeford High School in 1970. Initially, he majored in psychology during his first two years of college at the University of Southern Maine, but during his junior year, he transferred to the University of Maine Orono and decided to study teaching.
As fate would have it, he was assigned to Biddeford High School in order to complete his student teaching requirement. He was then hired as a permanent substitute teacher and then became a full-time social studies teacher at his alma mater.
He also coached the Biddeford High School hockey team, leading the Tigers to a state championship and is remembered by many people as a formidable broom ball player.
Casavant became the city’s second-longest serving mayor. Only Louis “Papa” Lauzier served longer than Casavant, from 1941 to 1955 – a total of 14 years.
You didn’t want to break Mayor Lausier’s record? Just one more term?
(Laughs) “No. I never set out with the idea of serving as long as I did. In fact, I had pretty much decided that I was going to step down two years ago, but I had a friend who convinced me to serve just one more term, and it appealed to me because I felt like there was still some unfinished business to take care of.
“I’m 71 years old, and I had done it for 12 years. I don’t think anyone intended to have any one mayor serve that long, but the real trump card was losing the hearing in my left ear.”
You first ran for city council when you were just 23 years old, which means the bulk of your life has been serving the city of Biddeford as an elected leader. What drew you into local politics?
“I really enjoyed politics. The process and the players intrigued me. The psychology of it (Laughs). I enjoyed being part of the decision-making process, and having input. I used to tell my students – and it’s not to be taken egotistically – but I trusted me making the decisions more than I trusted anybody else. (Laughs)
“I felt, if I was on the outside looking in, I could give my view but that didn’t mean my viewpoint would resonate with the person I was talking to, whereas – actually being there I could listen but I could also be an active, very-active participant. I really enjoyed that.”
How has Biddeford’s political world changed over the last 50 years, going back to when you first ran for the council in the 1970s?
“It’s changed so much. I think people were more in tune with the political process back then; with what was happening at City Hall back in the ‘70s. You had little organizations all over the city, where politics were discussed, such as the Green Lantern Club on Green Street.
“There was more public input because people were more aware of what was going on back then. We had a daily paper covering everything happening in the city. The mayor was a much stronger position, but it was also more familiar. You didn’t have the nastiness, and I say that because I was always in the minority back then. There were three of us on the council in our 20s. It was always the majority against me, Dick Lambert and Billy Zuke. So many of the council votes were 8-3. It was more friendly. We would all go out together after the meetings for a bull session at Bull’s Café.”
What motivated you to run for mayor against an incumbent (Joanne Twomey) who was widely considered as basically unbeatable?
“The casino proposal that she was supporting concerned me, but it was much more about a philosophical and process difference. During that time period, too many people were watching council meetings as entertainment. The meetings were often bombastic and confrontational.
“I just thought that I could do a better job. I had retired from teaching, so I had the time. I just believed that a lot of people were ready for a change.”
Besides wanting to change the tone of how business was conducted during council meetings, what were your other priorities?
“Well certainly, the issues surrounding the Maine Energy [Recovery Company] plant loomed very large on my screen. I thought that had to be resolved because of what I had learned and come to believe. Not only was it an economic issue and an environmental issue, it was also a psychological issue. It was as if the city had given up on itself. We had become known as “Trash Town, U.S.A.” I knew that had to change.”
Why do you think public participation in local government has declined so much?
“I’m convinced that it’s a lack of knowledge. If you look back at the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, everybody read the Journal Tribune and/or the Courier. Reporters back then would pursue the stories until the end. When David [Flood] sold the Courier and the Journal closed, there became a vacuum of legitimate news. I also think some people may feel jaded by the process because of the misinformation that abounds on social media like Facebook.”
What do you think was your greatest accomplishment as mayor?
“Recreating pride in Biddeford. It’s nothing really physical. It’s just people in Biddeford actually believe in themselves as a community again. It was as if the community had lost its mojo; the recession, the Maine Energy plant, downtown business closings – – the glass was always half empty.
“People now openly brag about living in Biddeford. I recently saw an ad from a Kennebunk hotel that pointed out they were located only five minutes from Biddeford.”
What was your biggest disappointment during your 12 years as mayor?
[Pauses] “Probably dealing with the housing issue. Trying to figure that out and recognizing that there is no easy answer. There’s no instant answer, especially since it’s a regional, statewide and even national issue.
“We really need a regional approach. There has to be a concerted effort, driven by the state.”
Do you miss being the mayor?
(Laughs) Yes and no. I can’t even watch the meetings right now. I miss the adrenaline rush of being right in the middle of everything. I don’t want to meddle, which is really difficult for me to do. (Laughs) It’s really hard to do something for 12 years and then just stop, suddenly being out of the loop and not knowing exactly what’s going on – – just stopping cold turkey. It’s a little strange.
“There is also relief. When I was mayor, I’d spend almost an hour every morning and every night responding to e-mails. Now I maybe get four e-mails a day.” (Laughs)
As a politician, do you see social media as helpful?
“I call it anti-social media. Most of it is very disparaging and accusatory. It took me about a week or two as mayor to decide that I wasn’t going to read most of it. Otherwise, I’d see things that I didn’t say or do, and it got so frustrating. It’s so often just a rumor mill.”
What do you see as challenges on Biddeford’s horizon?
“Well, obviously the housing issue is going to dominate our conversations for a long time, and we’ll need to tackle that situation; but we also are looking at lots of other major budgetary issues, including staffing. How do we retain and attract professional employees? People want services, but that cost money. You can’t have it all.
“I also worry that our economy is slowing a bit in the downtown. The downtown really defines who we are as a community, and it’s important for our overall economy.”
Your political adversaries blame you for pushing so hard for a municipal parking garage.
“The reality is that we actually need at least two parking garages. The next one needs to be near the corner of Main and Alfred streets. It’s interesting to me that in so many other cities, whether it’s Westbrook or Portland or Auburn, there is virtually no resistance to parking garages.”
You describe your role as mayor as simply an extension of your time as a high school teacher.
“It’s the same skill set and the same techniques. It was about repeating, repeating and repeating information so that the kids could get it; it was about connecting the dots so that they could understand it; and it was also about forming relationships and helping them feel good about themselves.
“It’s never just one person leading the city. You really need a team approach, it’s like a quilt with several different patches. It’s rewarding, sometimes frustrating but if you have the right people around you — if you can build a team with lots of different perspectives — then you can do almost anything.”
A retired judge, district attorney, state commissioner and former mayor from Biddeford reflects on his career and the changes in his community.
Hollywood movies often rely on stereotypes. Lawyers are frequently depicted as corrupt and self-serving. The district attorneys in those movies are not much better, using their power as glorified crime fighters for political gain. Mayors are routinely portrayed as bumbling, narcissistic egomaniacs; and judges wield their power with a rigid temperament and periodic fits of rage.
Michael Cantara/ Seaver photo
Michael Cantara of Biddeford has served in all four of those roles, but he is the exact opposite of those Hollywood stereotypes. Instead, Cantara is well-known throughout southern Maine as a man of principle, restraint, intellect and compassion.
Among many other awards and accomplishments, Cantara was inducted into the Maine Franco-American Hall of Fame and also inducted into the Biddeford Hall of Fame in 2022.
Cantara, 70, was adopted as an infant from the St. Andre Home in Biddeford by Jean Paul and Laurette Cantara. He and his two sisters were raised in a very modest home on Granite Street Extension. His father worked at the Saco Lowell machine shops. His mother worked at the Pepperell textile mill and later as a waitress at the Nutshell Restaurant in Biddeford.
He attended parochial schools, including St. Andre’s and later St. Louis High School, which closed just before his senior year. Thus, he graduated from Biddeford High School in 1971 before attending Colby College with the idea of becoming a pediatrician.
You planned on becoming a doctor but ended up retiring as a judge. A lot of things must have happened between those two bookends.
“Oh yes, they certainly did.” (Laughs) “I wasn’t exactly a clear career thinker when I went to school. I majored in French with a minor in biology. But my dream of being a pediatrician floundered on the shoals of organic chemistry. (Laughs) So, I reset the dial and decided to become a teacher.
“In my senior year of college, I was nominated for a Fulbright Teaching Scholarship. So, I got this wonderful gift of teaching in a French high school in Normandy, near the small town of Rouen, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.
“I taught American culture, history and language at a vocational school. My students were adolescent French boys from the local neighborhood. They were so receptive to the ideas I was teaching because at that time all things American were considered pretty cool.”
You returned to the United States and ended up going to law school.
“I had wanted to teach French on the college level, but was intrigued by political science and chose the mayoral election in Paris as the topic for my doctoral thesis. At that time, there was quite a bit of upheaval on the city’s political landscape.
“There was so much happening in the early 1970s. In general terms, it was a time of upheaval when young people were being encouraged to stand up for what they believed; to be a part of the social change that was happening all over the world.
“I wanted to go back to Maine, and the options for teaching French were practically non-existent, and I was exploring opportunities for public service. So, I enrolled at the University of Maine Law School.”
You were paying close attention to politics on the national, state and even local level, at a time when Maine’s own Senator Edmund Muskie was derailed from his presidential campaign because he allegedly teared up during a press conference.
“Yes, men – – especially back then — were not supposed to cry. I was very inspired by Senator Muskie and his dedication to public service. As you know he was the architect of the Clean Water Act. Without that federal legislation, which was vitally important for Maine, we wouldn’t be talking about the Riverwalk in Biddeford today had it not been for Ed Muskie’s leadership.”
“In fact, Senator Muskie gave the commencement address at my high school graduation, which was held at Thornton Academy because Biddeford did not have enough space.”
You were drawn to the Democrat Party and today remain as a party stalwart.
“I was very much influenced by my parents. Both my mother and father read the paper every day, and they were both Democrats who understood the importance of voting and paying attention to what was happening. Democrats were very pro-union.
“My uncle Henry, however, was anti-union. He worked at S.D Warren and was very much a company man. Regardless, my father was always very calm when talking to my uncle about the importance of labor unions.
“My father would listen patiently and spoke in a measured way, but always remained committed to his beliefs. I learned a lot from my father.”
You hung out your law practice shingle on a Crescent Street office without much money in your hand.
(Laughs) “Actually no money. My law partner Jim Boone and I were able to secure the lease by offering sweat equity. We would paint the building and sand the floors in exchange for the first few months’ rent.”
And then you decided to get into politics.
“What was I thinking? (Laughs) I decided to run for the Legislature in the early 1980s. At that time, I was living on State Street. And the occupant of that House seat in the Legislature was Lucien (Babe) Dutremble.
“I don’t know what possessed me, but I had the crazy idea of challenging Mr. Dutremble – one of the most respected and adored men in the city – in the Democratic primary. And, of course, throughout the campaign he couldn’t have been any kinder to me.
“What was so strange and incredible to me is that I lost only by 16 or 18 votes. I can’t remember exactly, but it was slim enough to invoke the city charter’s requirement for a recount, which was presided over by Luc Angers, the city clerk at the time. They were all paper ballots back then and the recount took place at the police department. The result didn’t change, but I thought that was probably the end on my political career.
“But then a couple years later, I was asked by Mayor [Robert] Farley to serve on the planning board, even though I was previously on the [William] Pombriant ticket who ran against Mr. Farley in the primary. I ended up serving almost four years on the planning board, and so I had a ringside seat to some of the issues affecting Biddeford: Affordable Housing, Land Use and Habitat Protection.
“Not much later, Gene Libby, who was the district attorney, asked me if I would join his office as an assistant district attorney. I enjoyed that work and was covering all three district courts, which were then located in Springvale, Biddeford and Kittery.”
And then you decided to run for mayor.
“Yes, and that was back when local elections were partisan, so there were primaries and a longer campaign season. There was no city manager. The mayor ran the city’s day-to-day operations, much different than it is today.”
Why did you only serve for one term?
“Because the seat for the district attorney was opening up. It was an open seat, and I was looking forward to the challenge.”
Bonnie (Belanger) Pothier told me that you practically hounded her to run for the mayor’s seat to replace you. She jokes that she just finally caved to your pressure.
(Laughs) “I knew that she was going to be a great mayor, and she proved me right. I didn’t always agree with her, but I had tremendous respect for her. She had a lot of uphill battles to fight, but she was a remarkable leader.”
While you were serving as district attorney, Governor John Baldacci appointed you as Maine Public Safety Commissioner for four years, and then during his second term, he nominated you to serve as a district court judge in York County.
“Yes. I was among five people nominated to fill new positions created in order to address significant backlogs of cases and to free up more judges throughout Maine to serve the newly-created business docket.”
You served as a judge for 12 years and retired in 2019. Do you miss it?
“I very much miss the people I worked with. I had the privilege of working with exceptional people; the clerks, the magistrates and the marshals. But the weight of some of the decisions a judge has to make – I don’t miss that particular kind of stress.
“It can be very challenging. You can provide a legal answer to a problem, but you’re not providing a life solution. There’s so much poverty – – financial poverty, health poverty, educational deficits and mental health issues, not to mention chronic unemployment.
“As a judge, you are witness to all of it and sometimes feel so powerless to change any of it.”
You are a true son of Biddeford. What challenges do you see facing the city today?
“I have been a citizen of Biddeford for most of my 70 years. Without question, we must address the issue of homelessness. 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.
“I was taught that we are all children of God. I don’t want to let my brother or sister freeze to death tonight. We are living in 21st Century America, and I don’t think that’s too much to ask.
“It is an issue of dignity, and it is not insurmountable. We just need the political will to make it happen.”
From the humblest of beginnings, you went on to become a teacher, an attorney, a mayor, a district attorney, a state commissioner and then a judge. If they were alive, do you think your parents would believe how much you have been able to accomplish?
“I don’t know, but I do know that I learned life’s most important lessons from my parents, including the importance of service to your community; to volunteer for your school, your church.
“I certainly hope that I lived up to their expectations. I hope that I have lived a good life. I think that’s the most important thing.”
Two rather interesting events happened this week, each painting a troubling picture for loyal, solid Democrats at both the national and local level: Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced he would not seek reelection, and City Councilor Marty Grohman was elected to become Biddeford’s next mayor.
What do Manchin and Grohman have in common?
Bear with me, because I think these two stories serve as a bellwether of a changing political landscape that has long alienated people in the so-called political “middle,” the centrists who are weary of extremists on both the left and the right of the political spectrum.
Mayor-elect Marty Grohman
Currently, Democrats have a razor-thin majority in the United States Senate, including the so-called “Independent” senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and our own Angus King, both of whom caucus with the Democrats and consistently follow the marching orders of both Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden.
It’s really nothing short of a miracle that any Democrat could win an election in a state like West Virginia, which is more red than Biddeford City Councilor Marc Lessard’s campaign signs. Manchin’s decision spells very bad news for the Democrats and will no doubt reshape the battle for senate control in 2024.
“Manchin’s moderate positions have at times been a thorn in the side of his increasingly left-leaning party,” according to ABC News political analysts.
So how does this connect to the rather mundane and much less dramatic world of Biddeford politics?
Theoretically, Biddeford’s municipal elections are supposed to be a “non-partisan” affair. Biddeford voters approved a change to the city’s charter in the late 1980s to dump the partisan labels of Democrat and Republican.
But if you really believe our local elections are non-partisan, I’ve got an ocean-front home to sell you in Ohio.
Make no mistake, despite all the pontificating, hand-wringing and lack of primaries, local elections are still very much influenced by each candidate’s political label. Not by his or her merits, but by his or her political allegiance.
Local Democrat leaders like State Rep. Marc Malon will tell you that’s not true.
It should be noted here that on top of his elected office, Malon is also professionally employed by the Maine Democrat Party. He currently serves as Party Affairs Director for the party.
Malon is a good guy. He’s very smart, and he is passionate about his politics. He works hard, and has a unique perspective on Maine’s political landscape. It’s his job to make sure that Democrat candidates get elected in Maine, even in places like Biddeford that are supposedly “non-partisan.”
So why do I keep saying “supposedly?”
Because partisan politics still plays a big role in Biddeford’s political circles and games, despite what the city’s charter says about municipal elections.
That said, state and local Democrat leaders, including Malon, did absolutely nothing wrong. Let me repeat that in order to be perfectly clear: No one on the ballot (nor their supporters) did anything wrong during Biddeford’s most recent election cycle.
So why am I taking the time to write about an election with zero incidents of impropriety by any of the candidates or their supporters? First, I am a local political junkie. Secondly, because I see a major shift starting to happen in both local and national elections.
In a story I wrote for Saco Bay News just a few hours after the results were announced, I listed those who supported and endorsed each of the mayoral candidates: Susan Deschambault and Marty Grohman. I posted that story on my personal Facebook page with a teaser, asserting that the Democrat Party closed ranks on a local level and clearly lined up behind Deschambault over Grohman.
It’s understandable (and quite predictable) that Democrat leaders would line up behind a Democrat over an “independent” or a Republican candidate in a general election, even though party affiliation isn’t supposed to matter in a non-partisan election.
Overall, the city of Biddeford – like many other mill towns — has a long history of leaning to the political left. Today, however, it seems that it’s becoming a matter of how far left a candidate needs to be in order to win elected office in the city.
I have a theory about why notable Democrat leaders were so enthusiastic about supporting Deschambault over Grohman. In a nutshell, it was political pay-back. Allow me to explain.
Both Deschambault and Grohman served on the city council. Both candidates served in the Maine Legislature. They had very similar platforms. In fact, during an October head-to-head debate, the only real difference that was clear to the audience was that Grohman likes to ride a bicycle and Deschambault says she likes to avoid both bicycles and walking.
Just days before the election, Mayor Alan Casavant repeated his support for Marty Grohman to take over the big chair at City Hall. On that same day, the Deschambault campaign ran an advertisement in the Biddeford-Saco Courier, listing local politicians who were endorsing Deschambault.
Deschambault’s list of supporters was impressive: State Sen. Henry Ingwersen, the highest state official serving Biddeford, was on that list. The rest of Biddeford’s delegation, including Malon and Rep. Erin Sheehan, were on that list. Former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Ryan Fecteau was on that list.
Previous state representatives Megan Rochelo and Victoria Foley (who lost her own bid for mayor against Casavant two years ago) was on that list. Previous mayors Mike Cantara and Bonita (Belanger) Pothier were on that list. Weeks before, Malon and Fecteau both used their personal Facebook pages to endorse Deschambault.
Pretty impressive, huh? What do they all have in common? They are all active, strident and loyal Democrats. On a local level, these folks are all political heavy-hitters. If you want something done, these are the people who can make it happen.
But it wasn’t just local Democrats who were offering assistance for Deschambault.
According to campaign finance reports, Deschambault’s campaign also got the support of many individuals well outside of Biddeford, including Democrat Party activist and former legislator Justin Alfond and State Senator Joe Baldacci, younger brother of former governor John Baldacci, both of whom wrote checks for Deschambault.
I saw that ad and thought to myself, it’s all over for Grohman. I publicly predicted that Deschambault would win the race. Despite what some people like Alan Casavant say, Biddeford is pretty much a blue community. Or is it?
But then something strange happened. Deschambault lost. Wait. What?
Despite such an impressive list of Democrat supporters and the fact that Biddeford most often votes blue, the party wasn’t powerful enough to knock off Grohman, the more centrist candidate.
Deschambault’s track record in the State Senate was basically flawless. She did whatever the party leaders told her to do. She always voted the way they wanted. She played nice. She toed the party’s line.
Good for her. She’s a Democrat. She voted the party line. Yawn.
During his stint in the Legislature, Grohman sometimes had the temerity to look at issues from a more centrist position. Furthermore, he had the audacity to run as an “independent” candidate against Democrat Chellie Pingree for the First Congressional District race. That was enough, right there.
The Republicans may have the symbol of an elephant, but the Democrats are the ones who “never forget.” Deschambault was being rewarded for her party loyalty, Grohman was being punished for thinking for himself.
Shortly after I posted my story on Facebook, Malon went on the defense.
“As a staffer for the Maine Democratic party and one of the electeds (sic) who endorsed Susan, I am pretty confident offering this analysis: there is little to no impact on the political landscape in Biddeford for state/federal races,” he wrote. “This is based on previous municipal and state/federal results and my analysis of this particular race . . .”
I responded toMalon, “ . . . but there is no denying that party stalwarts lined up solidly behind Deschambault: Baldacci, Alfond, the entire legislative delegation (current and former).”
Malon came back: “because they all knew her and liked her. Honestly that’s about the extent of it.”
Again, I like Marc. We have plans to get together for some good whiskey soon. We’re both political animals, but I’m not buying what he’s selling. Because they knew and liked her?? Are you freakin’ kidding me??
They all know Marty Grohman, too. What, exactly, did they not like about him? Because he rides a bicycle to work? Because he is a successful businessman? Because he has blue eyes? Because he volunteers at the skating rink and helps veterans? Spare me.
Biddeford is changing, including its political machinations, and that started more than 20 years ago, when MERC was still burning trash downtown. A Republican, Saco native (Gen. Wallace Nutting), beat two well-known, lifelong residents for the mayor’s seat. Ever since, the Democrats’ iron grip on the city has been slowly eroding.
I agree with musician Sheryl Crow, “a change will do you good.”
My advice to the Democrats? You’re gonna need a bigger boat.
I have been covering Biddeford City Hall for nearly a quarter century, and I don’t recall seeing anything so silly and inane as what I witnessed during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
If you are a resident of Biddeford, you can let out a deep sigh of relief because City Manager James Bennett and his crack staff uncovered a little-known flaw in the city’s municipal ordinances.
Apparently, up until Tuesday, there was nothing in the city’s code of ordinances regarding improper or unauthorized usage of the city’s official seal.
Members of the city council, almost without question, dutifully voted unanimously to approve this important and vital change to our code of ordinances.
Phew! We narrowly dodged a bullet there.
But here’s the deal. It was already illegal. State law already prohibits any persons or entity from using a municipal seal in any inappropriate manner.
In fact, Bennett and his staff knew – before bringing this gem before the council— that it was already a violation of state law to use the city’s official seal in an unauthorized manner. But that didn’t stop them from drafting both a memo and new ordinance language in order to ensure that bad people clearly know that our city will not tolerate violations of state law within the city limits.
Wait. What?
In the classic 1978 comedy Animal House, Dean Wormer is vexed about a notorious fraternity on the campus of Faber College. In one memorable scene, the dean tells some close allies that he will place the Delta fraternity on probation.
“But the Deltas are already on probation,” says the chair of the student council.
“Well then,” the dean says with a smirk. “Now they are on double-secret probation.”
Our city manager earns a handsome six-figure salary plus a suite of lucrative employment benefits. Under his watch over the last few years, City Hall staff has ballooned. The argument always being “we are very busy and need more people.” At the same time, we seem to be doing a piss-poor job of retaining department heads and other senior staff.
In fact, I was surprised that Bennett didn’t recommend hiring a consultant to study the issue of inappropriate use of the city seal. Then we could send those recommendations from the consultant to the Policy Committee, where it would be dutifully reviewed and sent back to the council.
At this point, based on actual recent events, the council could then ask for “more information” and suggest that the Policy Committee should host a joint meeting with the city’s Conservation Committee in order to develop a joint resolution and appropriate guidance for the city council.
Meanwhile, residents are opening eye-popping property tax bills. Meanwhile, more and more of our neighbors are sleeping in doorways. Meanwhile, we can’t figure out how to paint the city’s clock tower. Meanwhile, we have a downtown parking debacle that borders on the absurd.
What’s next?
Is Bennett going to recommend to the council that we should amend our ordinances “to affirm” that murder is not allowed in the city of Biddeford?
I mean, right now all we have is the Ten Commandments and some rather explicit language at both the state and federal level that spells out murder is against the law. Sure, let’s update our municipal ordinances.
I don’t care if Bennett and his staff spent less than two hours on this issue. It was an epic waste of time and resources. Is the city manager just trying to justify his salary? Or does he and his staff have lots of free time to generate this sort of stuff?
Make no mistake. As usual, no one from the public spoke. No one from the public attended the meeting. Left to their own devices, this is the kind of stuff that happens in government when no one is watching.
Biddeford City Councilor Marc Lessard and I have a long and somewhat tangled history that goes back more than two decades.
Lessard — who holds one of the two at-large seats on the council — is the longest serving elected member in the Biddeford-Saco area, and he can always be counted upon for a good quote, a clever analogy or a mind-baffling rationalization of his position on any given issue.
In all fairness, Old Orchard Beach Town Council Chairman Shawn O’Neill has held elected office in that tiny seaside hamlet since before the ocean was invented.
But back to Biddeford, its pristine beaches and a potential threat to public safety.
Earlier this week, the Biddeford City Council voted to table a potential change to its ordinances that would require all dogs to be leashed in Clifford Park, a rather densely wooded park that includes several walking and hiking trails near the center of the city.
Before we proceed any further, you should know that nothing drives your Google analytics better than the topics of food or dogs. Not abortion. Not climate change. Not gun control.
Dogs and pasta. That’s what really drives public engagement on the world-wide web. Serious as a heart attack. It’s true. Google it.
Anyway, Lessard is less than pleased that the council didn’t take more immediate action. He shared three graphic, personal examples of why dogs should always be on a leash. During the council discussion, Lessard told his peers that he has personally witnessed some gruesome attacks by unleashed dogs, including an attack on his four-year-old granddaughter and another story in which an unleashed dog killed another dog that was on a leash.
“If you saw what I saw, then you would support this change to require dogs to be on a leash,” Lessard said. “It’s a no brainer.”
But Councilor Bobby Mills, who rarely misses an opportunity either to pander to popular opinion or to be annoyed with what people say about him on the internet, said he sees no reason to change the ordinance that allows dogs “under voice control by their owners” to roam freely in Clifford Park.
“I have not heard an outcry to enact this,” Mills said, somehow ignoring the fact that more people have contacted the city council about this issue than any other issue since former Mayor James Grattelo changed his hairstylist in 1996.
Now it is well known that I am a huge fan of the 1975 movie Jaws. I have seen the film more than 250 times. I belong to three different Facebook Jaws Fans groups. For my Christmas present last year, my wife remodeled our upstairs bathroom to be “Jaws-themed.”
I am a Jaws fanatic. My father took me to see the movie on its opening weekend in 1975. I was 11 years old, and I haven’t gone above my ankles in the ocean since. True story.
So, how do we connect Marc Lessard to perhaps one of the greatest films of all time?
In response to Councilor Mills’ rather laissez-faire attitude about public safety, Lessard pulled out the big guns and decided to use the threat of not one, but of three great-white sharks near Biddeford’s beaches as an analogy for being pro-active when it comes to public safety.
Not just any sharks, mind you. But Great White sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, for you amateurs out there.
“Imagine if we knew that there were three great white sharks just off the shores of our beaches,” Lessard said. “Would we wait for a swimmer to be attacked before we closed the beach?”
Peter Benchley, the man who wrote the novel Jaws, which became one of the highest grossing films of all time, has said in recent years that he regretted writing the book because of how it generated such negative public perceptions about sharks, including the merciless and often illegal hunting of the species.
Look, you can feel bad for the sharks all you want, but Lessard is right. Those beaches should be closed.
In all seriousness, another very compelling reason to keep dogs on leashes in Clifford Park is the potential impact to other critters that live in what is widely considered to be a complex and thriving vernal pool habitat. Free-ranging dogs and these critters don’t mix well.
I get that people love their dogs and want to spend time recreating with them. I am a dog owner, but I am also keenly aware that not everyone loves my dog. Not everyone feels safe having a dog walk up to them in order to smell their genitals.
Clifford Park is a public park, not a dog park. Those beautiful trails are there for the benefit of everyone, including seniors, young children and even people who don’t own dogs.
My dog, Sasha, a Black Labrador, is very gentle and somewhat submissive. I have had two experiences in which other dogs (unleashed) pinned her to the ground with gnarling teeth bared.
If Bobby Mills wants to play the part of Amity Mayor Larry Vaughan, who said “those beaches will be open.” Well, so be it.
But if you’ve seen the movie Jaws you know that Amity’s Mayor was dead wrong, even if his kids were “on that beach, too.”
On Tuesday, Councilor Lessard played the part of Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute on the mainland. “I think you’re going to ignore this particular problem until it jumps up and bites you in the ass.”
Hooper drives the boat, chief. And Lessard is right. Your right to swing your arms stops at my nose.
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My wife Laura says that Marc Lessard is more like Chief Martin Brody than Matt Hooper. You see, this is what happens in the case of an amateur trying to inject her opinion in a newspaper column.
Lessard has city hands. He’s been counting money his whole life. “That’s billions with a ‘B,’ boys” (Inside joke that only a few longtime observers of Biddeford politics will understand.)
Anyway, it’s only an island if you look at it from the water.
Bonnie Pothier has been breaking barriers since before breaking barriers was a thing. She was the first woman elected as mayor in Biddeford, but she also had to break a lot of other barriers and overcome many other challenges before then.
Whether as a school teacher, a downtown business owner or even as a member of the local Rotary club, Pothier has always been willing to swim upstream, letting nothing get in her way.
Born and raised in Biddeford, Pothier’s high school class was the first to graduate from Biddeford High School after St. Louis High School was closed in 1971. Bonita Pothier was the middle child of a large family that included her older sisters Charlene, twins Donna and Mona and two younger brothers John and Chuck. Pothier graduated from the University of Maine Farmington, earning a bachelor’s degree in education.
Today, she is one of five regional representatives for U.S. Senator Angus King, Jr., working in the Biddeford office that serves all of York County, a position she has held since King was first elected as senator in 2012. Recently, she announced that she will be retiring in just a few weeks.
“I have been working every summer since I was 11 years old, babysitting,” she laughed. “I finally decided that I wanted to just relax and enjoy the summer for once.”
Initially, it wasn’t your idea to run for mayor in 1989, was it?
“No, it wasn’t. (Laughs) My husband and I were just having dinner with some friends, including Mayor Mike Cantara. Mike said he would not be seeking another term because he wanted to run for the District Attorney seat. So, we all started talking about who would be a good fit to run for mayor. Mike looked over at me, and said you should run. I almost spilled my drink, and I burst out laughing. I was sure he was kidding. The room got quiet. Even my ex-husband thought it was a good idea. I was not at all convinced.
“Michael (Cantara) stopped by my house every night, working to convince me. At the time, I was the president of the chamber of commerce but I had no real political experience. I had a downtown business and young kids. I kept telling him I was too busy, but he persisted.
“I don’t think the city is ready to have a woman as its mayor,” I told him. “You’re putting your money on the wrong horse. Finally, I gave in. I told him I’ll run but you’re going to be sorry.”
You had a decisive win in the election, but your problems were just starting.
“Oh you bet. (Laughs) There were a lot of people who were very uncomfortable with the concept of a woman in power. Also, I was the first Franco-American to be become president of the chamber, so it wasn’t just my gender that bothered a lot people. When I marched in my first La Kermesse parade as mayor, I brought my children along to march with me.
“Over the next few days, there were lots of angry letters to the editor published in the Journal [Tribune]. People said it wasn’t appropriate for the mayor to be walking in the parade with her children. Others criticized my hairstyle.
“All that aside, being the mayor of Biddeford was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. It was a fascinating experience.”
But a patriarchal sentiment extended beyond City Hall, right?
“Oh yes, I remember trying to join the Biddeford Rotary Club and [Richard] Dick Martin said there will be women in the Rotary Club over my dead body. That’s when the Saco Bay Rotary Club was formed. Dick and I came to a very good place of mutual respect. We worked closely together on the design of the new elementary school, MERC and the sewer treatment plant. He was an engineer by trade and he was appointed to the council when Tiny Frechette died.”
You were criticized for trying to work in a “man’s world” and how could you know anything about culverts and road repairs.
“It was, I think, a pivotal time for our city. A lot of people simply couldn’t understand why I wanted to do it, that I should just stay home, mind my own business and take care of my children. Back then, there was no city manager and people had a lot of doubts about department heads reporting to a woman.”
Back then, you were dealing with issues surrounding the MERC trash incinerator, needed sewer upgrades and an exodus of downtown merchants as the mills began to close. What do you think of Biddeford today?
“When I look around today, it’s so satisfying to see the vibrancy that is returning to our community. I believe things are always cyclical, but this is what I knew we would eventually become. I’m old enough to remember what it was like to be downtown in the 1960s. Honestly, the sidewalks were full of people shopping or going out to eat. You had a hard time walking from place to place because of the crowds.”
But you also saw the city’s downtown core begin to crumble in the 1980s.
“It was sad to watch so many things disappear. I remember when I wanted to open my business on Main Street in the early 1980s, so many people said I was crazy to be making an investment downtown. It was like we had all but given up on our downtown. The mills were closing and people began shopping at malls.”
Becoming mayor at that time, with a national recession and jobs leaving the area, what things do you consider were hallmarks of your one term as mayor?
“There were a lot of things, but one really just jumps out at me. Back then, there was no development west of the Turnpike intersection. The council had the foresight and vision to contemplate that area as a commercial growth district, and we went ahead and decided to extend the sewer and water lines there. Without that, you would have never seen all the development that has happened there since.”
How did you end up working for Senator King?
“You’re not going to believe this, but again it was nothing I ever contemplated or pursued. I was visiting a friend at the hospital and Senator King was there visiting the same person. I had known him for a long time. We just started chatting. He seemed interested by my experience as a senior manager at Key Bank, my time with the Chamber and other stuff. He actually pitched me the job, telling me you’ll never be bored working for me. Truer words have never been spoken (Laughs).
As a senate staff person, what’s your perspective on our national landscape?
“I feel like the tone of our political discourse has deteriorated. We have relaxed so many norms, so many people no longer practice good manners in public. The language is . . . well, shocking. There’s so much anger and distrust out there.”
What do you think is driving that anger?
“I think people are afraid, but nobody wants to admit they are afraid. We’ve given ourselves permission to just be constantly angry. It seems more acceptable to be angry than afraid. I think people want to be heard. And that’s what I admire most about Senator King. Despite what some people think, he really listens to people, even when they are being critical of him. He really goes the extra mile.”
The mayor’s seat in Biddeford is opening up this year. Want to run for your old job?
“Are you kidding me? (Laughs). No. Absolutely not. I want to spend more time with my grandchildren and go to the beach.”
What would be your advice to the next mayor?
“What you do can have lasting impressions long after you leave public office. It’s important for all of us, I think, to consider our ethics and to be careful about what message you want to send. Your words matter. I would also tell them to try to bridge the divide that is developing between older and newer residents. I am very concerned about gentrification and the way we are moving forward.
“I think what is happening downtown is fantastic. But we also have to be mindful. While we have many more young people discovering Biddeford and moving here into the old mill buildings, you don’t see families moving into those units. And I don’t think a community can thrive without families.”
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