Mayor offers two city council endorsements

By RANDY SEAVER, Editor

NOTE: This story was updated to include comments from city council candidate Abigail Woods.

As Election Day draws closer, Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman is endorsing at least two city council candidates.

Grohman today announced his endorsement of Brad Cote in the city’s Ward Seven race. Grohman also says he will be endorsing John McCurry in the Ward Two race over political newcomer Abigail Woods.

Earlier today, Cote posted a brief video of himself on Instagram. Within minutes, the mayor – through his campaign page – offered an endorsement of Cote over Sam Pecor, the other Ward Seven candidate.

“Brad is experienced and level headed,” Grohman wrote. “He is the clear choice for this seat. Please join me in supporting Brad Cote for Ward 7!”

You can see Cote’s video and the mayor’s endorsement here.

Cote told the Gazette that the mayor’s comment was unsolicited. “I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing,” he laughed.

Pecor said he is not especially surprised that Grohman endorsed his opponent in the Ward Seven race, especially since the endorsement came less than 24 hours after he publicly criticized the mayor during a special public meeting on Thursday.

“I’m not sure if this is
a good thing or a bad thing”

— Candidate Brad Cote

Grohman said his endorsement of Cote was not related to Pecor’s public criticism on Thursday night.

When asked if he would be endorsing other city council races, Grohman said he is supporting John McCurry in the Ward Two race over Abigail Woods. Grohman also said he would like to see McCurry become the next council president.

The mayor did not respond to our question about whether he will also make endorsements in the at-large race and in the Wards One, Four and Six races.

“Again, this is something that raises concern about the mayor’s ability to be impartial and transparent,” Pecor said. “You can’t say with a straight face that this is coincidence. It’s very hard to believe that my criticism of the mayor and his endorsement of my opponent today are unrelated.”

Ward Two candidate Abigail Woods said she was disappointed that Grohman endorsed her opponent, especially since she and the mayor both share a priority in meeting the needs of the unhoused and low-income renters, issues that Woods describes as her area of expertise.

“We are all neighbors,” Woods said. “Ideally we will work together no matter who is elected. His endorsement of only two individuals could make this challenging.”

McCurry said he was also surprised to learn that the mayor was his endorsing his campaign in Ward Two.

“I never asked for his endorsement,” McCurry said. “But if he is going to be offering endorsements, he should do them for all the races. There is nothing wrong with the mayor endorsing candidates, but he should not be picking and choosing only certain races.”

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

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