Biddeford Update Part II: September 7, 2015
If you have a few minutes, I’d like to address at
length my thoughts on why, after an almost 6month detour, it’s time to take back our City
Council meetings.
As many people have witnessed in person or by
viewing Biddeford’s public access channel, Council
meetings have been under siege by a small, very
vocal, coordinated minority during the past few
months. On Monday, August 10th, the Council was
forced to abruptly adjourn because of inappropriate
and uncivil behavior from unruly members of the
audience. On Tuesday, September 1st, I was
forced to again call a halt to the meeting for the
same reason. Such rude, unacceptable behavior -- marked by the quite deliberate use of foul
language and obscene gestures --- is an
impediment to conducting city business.
Make no mistake, the disruptions of meetings are
premeditated and directly fueled by intentionally
inappropriate and exaggerated rhetoric on social
media. Certain individuals are so lacking in selfcontrol that their Facebook tirades have drawn the
attention of the Maine State Police. Given the
violence across this country that has been
exacerbated by social media postings, the

 increased scrutiny by the State Police has been not
only appropriate, but necessary.
I’ll be blunt. This conduct is deplorable, and it is a
mere handful of residents who have decided that,
in this way, they will hijack every meeting --- using
any excuse. By Council rules, they are certainly
allowed to speak during the meeting. In fact, they
are welcome to do so. In the beginning, their
objective was justice for victims of sexual abuse.
That’s how this phenomenon began --- legitimate
concern about a legitimate issue.
But in recent weeks the “movement” has become
blatantly political. Through the cynical manipulation
of events and confrontational rhetoric, quite
consciously staged for TV cameras and social
media, the objective of the group has changed. Not
surprisingly, it has attracted perennial political alsorans and perpetual malcontents, including a former
mayor, who earlier this year, made headlines in
every news outlet for hurling a jar of Vaseline at the
Governor of Maine. The mission of the group has
completely morphed and the purpose now, very
poorly concealed, is to destabilize and undermine
the current city government in order to secure
public office for themselves. In truth, they thrive on
and welcome the chaos. It is all by design.

 They now have their own mayoral candidate, their
own Council candidates, their own school board
candidates, and their own charter revision
candidates, all devoted to their particular agenda.
They even have their own newspaper. One of the
group’s loudest and most consistently profane
agitators let it slip on Facebook earlier this year (in
a post that was QUICKLY deleted) that the editor
of the local weekly was personally aiding and
possibly even directing her actions. That resulted in
at least one public event on which the paper
subsequently and conveniently reported. Very
clearly we have a situation in which an editor
harbors an easily detected political agenda, and
has for a long time. Not satisfied with simply
reporting the news, she wants to create it, and help
shape events. Frankly, that is extraordinary.
Running for office, of course, is perfectly fine; this
is a representative democracy, and anyone can
run for public office. However, it is important to
keep in mind that this faction’s incessant
production of misinformation and outrageous rumor
is specifically designed to trigger a loss of respect
and faith in current elected officials. That is the lens
through which this group --- and the local weekly --want you to view all developments on this issue. I
urge you to be cognizant of that dynamic as you
make your own, independent evaluations.

 Now, if we can set rumor and misinformation aside
for just a few minutes, let’s look at a couple of
facts.
Last week the Maine Attorney General’s office
announced it would not file charges against two
individuals who were alleged to have committed
sexual abuse against particular minors. The AG's
office was concerned about the lack of
corroborative information, and very conspicuous, in
the very short announcement about the decision,
was uncertainty about the actual age of one the
alleged victims, at the time of assaults.
The AG’s decision comes after the York County
District Attorney’s office declined to investigate.
That was followed by the Cumberland County
District Attorney’s decision to also not investigate.
Via social media, the most prominent alleged victim
has repeatedly urged victims to contact the FBI in
Boston, and the United States Department of
Justice. He has called on Maine’s governor for
action, enlisted our state senator in an effort to
pass a joint legislative resolution, claimed that
members of the United States Congress were
“getting involved,” and celebrated the “fact” that the
ABC News Nightline program is now “on the case.”

 Guess what? The City of Biddeford has heard from
NONE of these folks. No contact from Governor
LePage. No calls from the FBI. No letters from
state legislative leaders. And certainly no inquiries
from any producer at Nightline. Draw your own
conclusions, but I suggest that should tell all of us
a little something about the manufactured nature of
the online rhetoric.
Despite the AG's decision not to press charges, the
Council and I continue to be very concerned about
any alleged victims of abuse. In fact, in May the
Council passed emergency legislation to keep
registered sex offenders away from public parks
and ball fields where children gather. We did as
much as we could, as allowed by the law. We also
called on state senator David Dutremble to file
emergency legislation on two different fronts.
Despite the continued howls of protest by the
unmistakably political players who continue to drive
this siege, the City of Biddeford remains the ONLY
government body or agency that has taken any
direct action --- passing a new ordinance --- to deal
with a very serious issue. Somehow, the political
types driving this “crisis” manage to conveniently
leave any mention of that fact out of the
discussion.
Here’s another inconvenient fact. To my

 knowledge, no city official has ever been
dismissive regarding the stories of abuse from
decades ago. If anyone has that impression, then
they have been misled. All the hot air about city
officials “ignoring” victims is just that, completely
useless hot air. Whether or not those events took
place, in the seeking of justice, will be determined
by the courts, not by the city council. While
councilors may have their personal suspicions
about what may or may not have occurred, without
all pertinent details, which they do not possess, it is
not prudent for them declare judgment, especially
in terms of possible pending litigation against the
city. My role, and the Council’s role, is
GOVERNMENTAL. That is our only area of official
authority. Guilt or innocence will ultimately be
determined by due process and our criminal justice
system.
The one and only issue with which the City has
been concerned, in its governmental role, is the
very specific charge that the Chief of Police knew
about the incidents and covered it all up. The
inconvenient FACT is that the information that the
Council and I have reviewed indicates that such a
charge is EMPHATICALLY FALSE. Despite the
incessant conspiracy theories on social media, all
credible facts clearly point out that the Chief did all
that he was supposed to do, upon learning of

 allegations.
We’re not alone in our assessment. The AG’s
office has made it abundantly clear that the
Biddeford Police Department and the Chief have
always cooperated fully, that BPD has provided all
requested information promptly and at all times,
and that there is absolutely no trace of a cover up.
Quite simply, the information that the Council has
reviewed to date indicates that the Chief has acted
completely in harmony with the law, and all
accepted protocol. Therefore, to initiate a hostile
employment action against him at this time would
violate his right to privacy, violate his right to due
process, and violate many municipal, state and
federal regulations. One of our most important
duties is to protect the taxpayers of Biddeford from
financial exposure. Knowing what we know at this
time, it would be reckless and completely
irresponsible to begin a hostile employment action
against the Chief of Police.
Therefore, this past Tuesday, the Council decided
unanimously not to suspend the Chief. As part of
their deliberations, they reviewed a 16-page
statement, written by a former Biddeford detective.
The document alleged impropriety, but was
completely anecdotal, and very notable for its utter

 lack of primary, first-hand evidence. In addition, it
was directly challenged by a signed affidavit, taken
under oath, that we also examined. That affidavit
bluntly stated that key aspects of the detective’s
statement were complete fabrications. Putting all of
those pieces together, in conjunction with the
Attorney General's findings and other information
that was reviewed, the Council thus reached a
unanimous conclusion to take no action against the
Chief.
To make a false statement under oath is to put
oneself at serious risk of prosecution for perjury.
Therefore, receiving a sworn, first-person affidavit
is FAR more powerful than innuendo and rumor,
which is the stock and trade of the amateur judges,
juries and executioners who love to incite chaos in
the Facebook playpen. The City Council’s function
is to make policy. Social media “dialogue” can
never --- ever --- be part of any disciplinary action
or legal process. What must be fundamental to any
inquiry or any accusation is factual evidence,
supported by witnesses. Who among us would
want to be disciplined or sanctioned because of a
rumor, with only phantom accusers? No one.
I respectfully ask all citizens to periodically remind
themselves that the flow of information, on social
media or from any media outlet that has

 compromised its reporting integrity, essentially tells
one side of the story. The Council, in executive
session, has heard the other side. And while the
Council is, by nature, not an investigatory body,
should any new information raise questions that
undermine or create doubt about our
understanding of what happened fifteen and more
years ago, it will be the critical duty of the Council
to take some sort of action. And I reiterate,
because this is IMPORTANT, that the issue is not
whether incidents of sexual abuse took place. The
issue at hand is, if there was such abuse, did the
Chief of Police try to cover anything up? To this
date, we have absolutely no information in hand
that supports that charge. Absolutely none.
I conclude by returning very briefly to the topic of
accepted behavior during Council meetings. As
your mayor, I feel very strongly that ALL the people
of Biddeford should be secure in the knowledge
that Council meetings are a safe and business-like
forum in which every citizen can expect a
respectful hearing, on whatever issue may be on
your mind. This is essential. It’s your right as a
citizen to know this valuable tool is available to
you.
I terminated last Tuesday's Council meeting when
one of the agitators began attacking City staff and

 Councilors, swearing over an open microphone,
and making obscene gestures. Prior to that, during
the course of the evening, other members of the
audience had entertained themselves with loud,
intrusive heckling and rude behavior. This has
been standard operating procedure by this small
clique for several months, and at the very least,
such a hostile environment inhibits divergent
testimony or opinions with which this group
disagrees. This is a grave disservice to all citizens.
This will no longer be tolerated. City Council
meetings are for ALL the citizens of Biddeford, and
you can rest assured that the Council will insist on,
and re-impose, respect and civility. This small
circle of 15 or 20 agitators has had much more
than a fair hearing in front of the City Council,
which has invested countless hours trying very
hard to sort through this difficult issue. These folks
will continue to get a fair hearing in front of the
Council as long as they abide by the widelyaccepted societal guidelines of respect, good taste
and common decency. Frankly, that is very little for
the citizens of Biddeford to ask of this particular
group. And it’s a very easy threshold to meet.
We are resolved to return order to our meetings,
and we will. Most important, the Council and I want
to thank the citizens of Biddeford who, during this

 unfortunate but temporary detour, have been so
patient and understanding. Your continued
expressions of support during the last several
months, via e-mail and during personal interactions
out in the community, have been very much
appreciated in these very trying times. Biddeford is
a wonderful community, and, together, with your
assistance and concern, we will find healing and
commonality.
Alan Casavant
Mayor of Biddeford