Editor,

Historically, in warfare, there have been many instances where savvy commanding officers have chosen to retreat — later to win. The opposition may have been stronger than expected and there’s some other advantages to quietly regrouping while the opposition loses momentum. Sometimes feigning weakness makes it more difficult to rally opposition support. Other times there’s a seasonal advantage — a cold winter that chips away at food supplies and weakens morale.

When politicians view policy decisions as warfare, the same logic is sometimes applied. This is exactly the situation I see with paid parking plans in Biddeford. There was an unexpected amount of pushback — including thoughtful questions from some elected officials — and a retreat was deemed necessary. Feigning weakness and delaying plans made it look like opponents were lying — taking the wind out of sails for raising awareness. And, instead of winter, it was summer within sight — the easiest time of year to forge ahead as residents are ‘upta camp and unlikely to attend or watch meetings that occur during youth softball games.

So, here we are. A draft parking management plan is ready for review. Well designed to minimize issues and well timed to become 41 pages unread.

I hope you read this document and make an informed choice. If you support the plan — awesome. If you oppose the plan — awesome. If you have questions — awesome. No matter what — I hope you become part of getting to the best possible outcome. There’s a lot on the line here and nobody will win if policy gets made in an ambush or assault.

Matt Lauzon

Biddeford

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