Protests calling for change in how Maine and other states police the black community took a surprising and disturbing turn last week as protesters in Portland turned their ire toward the widely respected city manager.

Portland Mayor Kate Snyder and other members of the Portland City Council came to the defense of City Manager Jon Jennings, who came under criticism from Black Lives Matter protesters during a march in Portland on June 5.

Some protesters, according to the Portland Press Herald, dislike the city’s “law enforcement approach to poverty, homelessness and mental and behavioral health struggles” and want Jennings gone.

Snyder, in a press conference the following day outside City Hall, praised the good work of Jennings and said he wouldn’t be going anywhere since the council, not the manager, sets administrative policy and that Jennings’ role is to merely carry out council directives.

Snyder and the rest of the council, who stood behind her as she spoke, should be heralded for resisting mob pressure and quickly coming to the defense of Jennings, a tremendous city manager who gives the job everything he has.

Jennings, founder of the Maine Red Claws basketball program and city manager of South Portland before being hired by Portland in 2015, is a calming voice of reason and repeatedly demonstrates that he is on the taxpayer’s side, striving to balance the needs of the business community, law enforcement, the schools, taxpayers and residents.

While the call for Jennings’ removal makes little sense based on his performance, it’s also perplexing. It reveals the protesters’ lack of understanding regarding the basic functions of local government. As Snyder said, do they not know that city managers merely administer the will of the council?

The protesters’ unjust, inappropriate and overreaching call for Jennings’ removal leaves me wondering if protesters understand the system they are protesting. And if they do not understand the system, are their protests legitimate? Or are they soaked with emotion and misunderstanding? If so, should we heed any of their other calls for action?

Whatever the answers, I’m glad we have competent leadership in the Forest City to lead the entire community – black, white and whatever other color – through these difficult and reactionary times.

Instead of calling for firings and the ruination of city leaders, protesters should focus on building people up, not tearing them down. If they think they can bulldoze their way to whatever they want, they will leave scorched earth behind them where nothing good will grow. It’s easy to bash but it’s harder to work within the system and with the people in the system to make it better.

Hopefully, protesters’ surprising call for Jennings’ ouster is just an anomaly. I wonder if the people calling for the firing are outsiders who don’t know Jennings and the calming presence he brings to the city. Anyone who recalls the tumult of former Mayor Ethan Strimling’s tenure in Portland remembers the voice of sanity Jennings offered.

Moreover, Mainers are all for protesters having the ability to peacefully protest. But when protesters vandalize commercial buildings, block traffic, vandalize Portland Police headquarters and clash with police officers, they need to realize their message of tolerance is weakened. And when they call for the removal of a widely admired city manager, they further lose credibility.

The key to any successful campaign – political, personal, commercial or otherwise – is to put forth your message in a positive, peaceful way. You’ll win many more converts if you act with decorum and positivity rather than tearing down, literally and figuratively, the cities and towns which you are trying to change.

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