Just hours after losing the mayor’s seat, Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman said he will issue a formal apology to Mayor-Elect Liam LaFountain during Thursday’s city council meeting.
LaFountain narrowly won the three-way race with 42 percent of the vote (2,623). Grohman received 2,413 votes (38.3 percent).
After the polls closed Tuesday, I offered Gazette readers feedback I received from several voters, speculating that Grohman shot himself in the foot on Sunday by penning a vitriolic op-ed column that leveled attacks against LaFountain.
Grohman lost the election by only 210 votes. It was not a landslide election.
Yes, there are lots of reasons why LaFountain was able to defeat two older and more-seasoned candidates, but Grohman’s op-ed left a sour taste in the mouths of several voters.
Many voters told me yesterday that they are upset about skyrocketing property taxes, a lack of affordable housing and a sense of unchecked development.
Marty is not responsible for many of the things that motivated voter turnout, but he is the incumbent, and most people wanted change. Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of voters chose someone other than Marty to be the city’s next leader.
The analysis of yesterday’s election doesn’t matter much, but what does matter is the fact that Marty realized his mistake and says he will issue a “formal apology” tomorrow.
Grohman indicated that he will apologize in a comment he posted on my personal Facebook page.
“Let me use this thread to apologize to Liam,” Grohman wrote. “However you read the race, he ran an excellent, excellent campaign, extremely well run with a great team, and worked very, very hard.
“I will issue a more formal apology at Thursday’s Council meeting,” he added.
Grohman’s willingness to publicly own and acknowledge his mistake is an excellent example of leadership.
We all make mistakes. The first step in correcting those mistakes is to acknowledge and own them.
Marty is a smart, innovative thinker with lots of energy. I am not worried about his future.
The loss of Tuesday’s election will likely sting for a long time, but so will the never-ending list of opportunities for leadership and community service.
Thank you for your service, Marty. You are one of Biddeford’s loudest and most passionate champions. I hope you will continue to be involved in the community you love.
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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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But, will you apologize to the Mayor for your opinion editorial? You could have communicated the facts you felt we should know without all of the snark. From the Biddeford and Saco Community page and thus far the Gazette, you’ve made your disdain of the Mayor known. I hope that in your restarted role on a journalistic news site (which is a commendable effort and community service) you would recognize that someone who has been so visibly un-self-censored in other venues has an even higher responsibility to model unbiased coverage. One unacceptable post doesn’t justify another. As you stated, we all make mistakes. All we can do is apologize and commit to do better. All that being said, thanks for taking on the Gazette. I look forward to watching it progress.
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I don’t know who you are (a real name would be helpful) I have NOTHING to apologize for on this topic. My job and chief responsibility is to hold local politicians accountable. Sometimes I use satire. 28 candidates were on the ballot only one candidate chose to go negative. The snark is my trademark. I don’t know how long you have lived in Biddeford, but in the late ’90s and early 2,000s I wrote a weekly column in the style of both Art Buchwald and Al Diamon about elected officials. That’s what my readers have to expect, and that is what I will continue to do. I do not and will not abide bullies, whether it’s the former city manager, the mayor or the University of New England.
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