I have to break a promise.

A few weeks ago, Dennis “Duke” Dutremble invited me to join him for lunch. I seized that opportunity.

If you’re into local politics, you already know that the Dutremble name is legendary and highly respected in the community. Duke’s father, Lucien ‘Babe’ Dutremble, served three terms as Biddeford’s mayor and 15 terms in the Maine House of Representatives.

Duke followed in his father’s footsteps and served seven terms in the Maine Senate, including one term as senate president.

When Duke Dutremble talks, you listen.

In 1994, Duke almost won a U.S. Congressional seat. Almost.

Duke lost his race against Republican James Longley, Jr. by less than two percentage points. Dutremble says that — more than 30 years later – the loss still stings.

During our lunch meeting, Dutremble shared his theory about why he lost that campaign. “I refused to go negative,” he said. “Most of my supporters and campaign staff were saying I needed to go after Longley because it was such a tight race. But I refused.”

Dutremble narrowly lost that election because his integrity and principles meant more to him than winning an election.

A new low for Biddeford?

Duke offered me some sage advice two months ago: Between now and Election Day, do not write any opinion pieces about the candidates, he advised.

Duke’s advice made good sense — right up until this morning when I received Mayor Marty Grohman’s guest column for the Gazette and then threw up a little in my mouth.

Two weeks ago, I notified the three mayoral candidates that they could each submit one column, outlining why they should be the city’s next mayor.

Yesterday, we published the response from Liam LaFountain. Earlier today, we published the response from Norman Belanger.

Both Belanger and LaFountain used the opportunity to underscore the principles of their campaigns and explain their positions on various issues.

Neither Belanger nor LaFountain made any comments about other candidates. But Marty used the bulk of his column to attack and vilify LaFountain and his supporters

“The gloves are off,” the mayor wrote. “Using tactics not seen in years, my opponent is making backroom deals with city councilors to guarantee them coveted committee assignments, in return for their support.”

Of course, Grohman shared no evidence to support his claims.

Grohman touched upon some of his accomplishments, but the bulk of his column was a rambling screed against LaFountain.

I have been watching Biddeford politics for 30 years. I have never seen a sitting mayor personally attack an opponent, relying on scare tactics and innuendo to make their point.

A promise broken

I apologize to Duke, but I cannot just sit by and silently watch the floundering and desperate mayor hurl personal insults.

Grohman’s column reveals and explains several things about his character and his approach to city politics in three simple steps.

Step One: Start off by being a victim, blaming others and absolving yourself of any responsibility.

“In Biddeford, the mayor doesn’t have a vote,” Grohman wrote. “The [city] council has all the power of passing legislation and budget expenditures.”

Step Two: After absolving yourself from any responsibility, brag about things that others have accomplished. Take credit for only the positive things happening in the city.

“It’s been a good two years,” Grohman writes, conveniently forgetting how much others have contributed to the city’s success. “We’ve gotten a lot done.”

Step Three: Attack your strongest opponents. Raise doubts about their character and commitment to the city. Accuse them of things with no evidence. Cast them as a boogeyman.

A used car salesman approach to politics

A common complaint about our mayor: “When you shake hands with Marty, you can almost see him looking over your shoulder to see if someone more important is in the room.”

Two weeks ago, Marty was ready to throw City Clerk Robin Patterson under the bus when he was asked why an agenda item about the UNE pier was not on the city council’s agenda.

He ignored the request made by Councilors Marc Lessard and LaFountain, and publicly said he “didn’t know about their request.” That is a lie. How do I know that? Because after I called him on it, he provided copies of the emails sent to him by Lessard and LaFountain several days prior.

He knew about it. He just didn’t want it on the agenda. When pressed, he backstepped and said the error happened because of a “busy city clerk.”

Forty-eight hours later, during a citizens meeting about the UNE pier, the mayor was handing out documents and saying he was not responsible for the removal of the harbormaster from the review process.

The truth? Grohman never said a peep when the former city manager yanked the harbormaster from the review process. In fact, the mayor repeatedly supported the former city manager’s decision.

But the mayor sure changed his tune when confronted with a roomful of residents who were pissed about the harbormaster’s removal.

Grohman has done a pretty good job in being a cheerleader for the city, but he can never resist a photo op for himself. If there’s no one there to take his picture, he simply posts yet another selfie.

Sure, it’s good to support local businesses, but why do you have your picture in every post?

When I wrote profiles about Dupuis Hardware, Biddo Bahn, Nibblesford and Georges, I took pictures of the owners or employees. I didn’t feel compelled to include a picture of me.

Last night, I witnessed a stunning difference between Marty Grohman and Liam LaFountain during a charity event for the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Resource Center.

Marty spent the evening gladhanding the crowd, pointing out that he is the mayor. LaFountain, on the other hand, remained at his own table with his wife and a few other people. He didn’t work the room. He was there – like most of us – to help a deserving charity.

Marty is always kissing babies and posing for flattering photos. He diligently avoids talking about difficult or challenging subjects.

He’s always looking for the easy way out, furtively scanning the horizon for the next vote or handshake. He is the consummate politician, and that is the problem.

Dutremble chose integrity over votes. It’s too bad Marty wasn’t at that lunch meeting. He could have learned something valuable; something about leadership and integrity.

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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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