Before voting for Bill Donovan for council, please consider how poorly his representation has been for the public’s right to access the shore. Many live in Scarborough because of our beautiful beaches. Many of us have lived here long before Mr. Donovan retired from Massachusetts to Higgins Beach. The beaches have been shared by surfers, swimmers, anglers, clam diggers and sunbathers for centuries. We expect a town councilor to respect and defend these policies. Yet at every chance Bill gets, he undermines the public’s right to access the water. Mr. Donovan says that he supports public access but his actions show otherwise. We forget that Mr. Donovan was a strong participant in the effort to eliminate parking beachside at Higgins Beach. We forget that Mr. Donovan also supported the effort to ban surfers from parking ocean side. We forget that Mr. Donovan pushed to limit access for dogs and their owners to walk on the beach.

But what has never been reported is that Bill Donovan also did something even more blatant.  Mr. Donovan purchased a lot on Harmon’s Island at Higgins Beach  and then resold the land. A right of way to the river that was shared by all of the lot owners on Harmon’s Island was removed. It was often used by clamdiggers and arguably the public.  This is a right of way that was passed down from owner to owner for 60-100 years. Is this the person you want to represent your public access rights?  I don’t.

Muriel Soucy

Scarborough