BIDDEFORD — On Wednesday, opponents in the race to be Biddeford’s next mayor answered questions about their vision to lead the city for the next two years. Incumbent Mayor Joanne Twomey and State Rep. Alan Casavant also took the opportunity to take a few shots at one another when answering questions posed by Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce and Industry Executive Director Craig Pendleton at City Theater.
Twomey said she’s running in large part to bring a racino ”“ with the promise of jobs ”“ to Biddeford.
“I want to finish the job I started with bringing jobs to our city,” she said.
It will be up to all Maine voters to make that decision in November, when they vote on whether to allow two more slot machine/harness racing facilities ”“ in addition to the one in Bangor ”“ in the state.
Casavant said a vote for him would be a vote to change the status quo in Biddeford and do something different to “change the storyline of the city” and look to the future.
After more than 30 years as a teacher, Casavant retired from Biddeford High School in May. He has served on Biddeford’s City Council and is in his second term as a state representative for Biddeford and Kennebunkport.
Twomey also served on City Council and also represented Biddeford residents in the Statehouse. She is in her second term as the city’s mayor.
It was apparent from the forum that the two candidates have different styles.
Twomey spoke about wanting to help her “memeres and peperes,” the French term for grandparents, many of whom worked in Biddeford’s mills before they all closed. She also said she likes to deal with people face to face, whether it be knocking on doors during her campaign or meeting with those bringing business opportunities to the city ”“ like proposed racino developer Tom Walsh, founder of Ocean Properties Ltd., who she said seems like a grandfather.
Casavant said he wants to be a more professional mayor and bring the city into the 21st century. In addition to going door to door during his campaign, he has also taken advantage of modern technology and is using social media like Facebook and Twitter during his run for mayor. He also he said he wants to bring civility back to city hall.
In addition to stylistic differences, there are also some substantive ones between the two candidates.
Twomey said a primary reason she is running for mayor is to secure a racino for Biddeford and the promised jobs it would bring. She noted that Casavant, along with four of the five members of the city’s legislative delegation, voted against allowing the racino process to proceed, which forced it to a statewide vote. It was disheartening, she said, to work for the racino while local legislators worked against it.
Casavant took the opportunity to explain his position. He said if Maine voters approve racinos in November, he’d work to secure the best deal possible for Biddeford. However, said Casavant, when voting in the legislature he felt uncomfortable because of the lack of information. There were no concrete answers, he said, about how many new jobs would be created, what the salaries would be and how much money would come to the city.
“I don’t like making decisions when I don’t have all the details,” he said.
Casavant said he learned his lesson of trusting developers to live up to promises that are not put in writing, when he voted to allow the Maine Energy Recovery Company incinerator to be built in downtown Biddeford. Casavant said he voted in favor of Maine Energy when he was on the city council based on promises that weren’t kept ”“ a decision he regrets today.
However, he said, now he’d like to make the incineration facility an asset by using it to provide cheap energy to the mill district. Casavant said he would like to meet with representatives of Maine Energy, and criticized Twomey for breaking up a task force charged with finding a solution for problems associated with the incinerator ”“ a task force started at her prompting.
Twomey said she decided to leave the task force when it appeared to her that the Maine Energy’s parent company was only interested in receiving millions in federal stimulus money.
“I couldn’t negotiate with someone I couldn’t trust,” she said.
Twomey criticized Casavant’s role in bringing the incinerator to the city in the first place.
The two also answered questions about working with Saco, something Casavant said he would do as mayor to find ways to save money through efficiencies. Twomey said she has met with Saco officials and noted her close connections with the city as a graduate of Thornton Academy in Saco and her friendship with Mark Johnston, who is running for mayor of Saco.
The candidates discussed their plans to bring jobs to Biddeford. Twomey said she plans to do that through the racino, as well as the efforts of the city’s economic development director. Casavant he wants to consider many alternatives, especially establishing a good business climate.
“That’s where I think we’re lacking,” he said.
Both said they’re against airport expansion.
In spite of their differences, both spoke passionately about their desire to be mayor and work to improve the circumstances of Biddeford residents.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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