OPINION: Are you ready to rumble?

Today is the first full day of autumn.

Many people get excited about this time of year. They order pumpkin everything, pick apples, decorate their yards with mums and fret about having the cleverest Halloween costume for themselves and their kids.

I get excited this time of year for an entirely different reason. I am a political junkie with a local focus, and every two years Biddeford voters choose who will represent them as mayor, on the city council and as members of the school committee.

Unlike the rather dull 2023 cycle two years ago, this year’s upcoming elections are bringing some heat to the game.

We have three mayoral candidates this year, and almost every ward race will feature two candidates, except Wards Three and Five.

The last time Biddeford had more than two people running for mayor was in 2013, when former mayor Joanne Twomey and former councilor Perry Aberle both tried to deny Alan Casavant a third, consecutive term.

And one of the most interesting mayoral races in Biddeford took place in 2003 when Gen. Wallace Nutting – a Republican and Saco native – upset the ballot with a decisive win over School Committee member Dan Boucher and City Councilor Marc Lessard.

Few people predicted that outcome, and I was not one of them. For the record, that race generated a whopping voter turnout of more than 67 percent of registered voters.

Typically, turnout during local elections rarely break the 45 percent mark.

Today’s political landscape in Biddeford

Voters will also be asked this year to decide the fate of two rather significant municipal bond issues; and whether to convene another Charter Review Commission.

In my opinion, there are at least three significant issues driving more candidates and voters to participate in this year’s election.

First, issues connected to former city manager James Bennett angered many people in the community on almost every front: how federal grant money was being used, excessive staff turnover at City Hall, questions about discrepancies in the Finance Department, a blistering report from the city’s auditors and the city’s inability to pay a private contractor for his services to the city.

And Bennett was also a central figure in the controversy surrounding the University of New England’s plan to construct a large pier on the Saco River. Bennett sidelined both the city’s harbormaster and deputy harbormaster during local review of the pier proposal.

The council finally removed Bennett from office but not before he left a shitty taste in a lot of mouths across the city. Bennett filed a lawsuit against the city.

City officials, in turn, are pointing to concerns about how Bennett used his office for his own gain.

Secondly, the UNE pier proposal raised local concerns on a number of fronts as opponents raised questions about possible conflicts of interest and a lack of transparency during the project’s review.

Finally, continuing property tax increases are always an issue in local elections. Over the last two years, the city has passed on increased spending budgets of nearly six percent per year.

Not surprisingly, several incumbent candidates are now raising concerns about property tax burdens, yet many of them actually approved increased spending over the last two years.

Politicians will be politicians.

How will the Biddeford Gazette cover all the election news?

Our in-depth election coverage will begin on October 1.

We are now in the process of collecting questionnaires that were sent to all city council candidates.  We will use those surveys as the basis for upcoming stories about each of the contested ward races. We will also periodically examine each of the races and how they align with public concerns.

The contested ward races will be covered in a single story. For example, candidates Patricia Boston and Jim LaBelle from Ward One will be featured in the same story.

Likewise, the three at-large candidates will be introduced in one story, but we will also do follow-up stories on that race.

When it comes to the mayor’s race, we will publish three separate stories regarding each candidate during the first full week of October.

Profiles and interviews with Norman Belanger, Marty Grohman and Liam LaFountain will be published in alphabetical order on three consecutive days.

Obviously, we will be writing many other stories, especially about the mayoral candidates and their campaigns.

Upcoming mayoral debate

Finally, I am proud of the fact that I was able to organize at least one public debate among all three mayoral candidates. It took a lot or work to get this thing organized but I think it’s well worth the effort.

I am especially pleased that my colleagues from Saco Bay News, and the Biddeford-Saco Courier agreed to participate as panelists with me.

That debate will take place on Friday, October 10, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Biddeford High School’s Little Theater on Maplewood Avenue.

The debate will be streamed live and recorded for later viewing on social media sites.

While there will be no public comment during this event, we are hoping that most of the questions will come from the public in the form of written submissions before the debate.

If you would like to submit a question or comment, please email us at biddefordgazette@gmail.com

I have been covering Biddeford politics for three decades. I promise you that we will leave no stone unturned during our in-depth coverage.

Let the games begin!

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Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be reached by email at randy@randyseaver.com

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