Editor’s note: To appear before the election, candidate support letters must be received by 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25. Send emails to editor@inthecourier.com
Re-elect Alan Casavant as Biddeford’s mayor
To the editor,
Biddeford residents have an opportunity ahead of them. In a few weeks, voters will head to the polls to cast their ballot for Mayor. Throughout Alan Casavant’s tenure serving in this critical role, our city has experienced an incredible transformation. The downtown is bustling, our mills are being revitalized, and Biddeford has been recognized as one of the coolest cities to live in America.
If you like the direction Biddeford has been heading in, don’t miss your chance to vote for Alan one more time. I wholeheartedly believe he deserves to complete the tremendous work he started.
Public service isn’t easy. It’s not a nine to five position either. It takes a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and vision to do the job and do it well. Alan has consistently demonstrated his commitment to Biddeford and has a track record of notable accomplishments to back it up.
Simply put, it would be disappointing if voters didn’t provide him an opportunity to serve another term.
For me, the decision is easy. I look forward to checking the box near Alan’s name on election day and hope my fellow residents feel the same. Exciting developments will undoubtedly continue for our community if he remains at the helm.
Jennifer Burke
Biddeford
To the editor,
On July 28, the Courier published a story about someone who moved to Biddeford five years ago, who is now a candidate for mayor and who was quoted as saying Alan Casavant “has done a great job” and that Biddeford “is on a great trajectory.”
I totally agree, and that’s why I’ll vote for Alan Casavant to serve a final term as Biddeford’s mayor. I urge all my friends and neighbors to join me.
Mark Robinson
Biddeford
Foley for mayor
To the editor,
Biddeford has changed dramatically in the last 10 years, and there is no doubt it will continue to evolve. As we move forward, we need strategic thinking and planning, and residents must be given ample opportunity to play an active role in shaping our city’s future. Our current leadership has had more than a decade to address acute challenges such as affordable housing, public access to information, and climate change. Why, then, has so little been done to date?
First, our community lacked a well-thought-out plan for growth. The update to Biddeford’s Comprehensive Plan is now more than 12 years overdue. Without sound planning we have seen uncoordinated development that has failed to meet the needs of our community. A key reason is that public participation in decision-making has not been encouraged or welcomed in Biddeford in recent years. I have experienced the disdain for citizens’ views firsthand when I worked with neighbors to provide feedback about a development that was out of character with our neighborhood and lacked proper due diligence. This needs to change.
What Biddeford needs now, more than ever, is new leadership – leadership that can work in a truly participatory manner, where broad input is actively sought and given equal weight. Victoria Foley is a leader who has a vision for our collective future, proactively engages the community, and listens to a diversity of voices. On November 2nd I’ll be voting for Victoria Foley to be the next Mayor of Biddeford. I hope you will, too.
Sterling Roop
Biddeford
To the editor,
As chair of the HUD Citizen Advisory Commission and co-chair of public engagement for the Comprehensive Plan in Biddeford, I have seen both the good and bad of city governance. I believe it is time for new leadership in Biddeford. Victoria Foley is that leader.
Currently, connections between the City and its residents are desperately lacking. Case in point: Biddeford has not updated its Comprehensive Plan since 1999, leaving our city without a clear direction for the future and shutting out citizen input regarding their needs and concerns. Indeed, a city without a modern comprehensive plan is much like a ship without a rudder.
At a time when Biddeford is growing at a rapid pace, we need a strong vision and leadership to steer Biddeford into its next phase and – just as importantly – to restore communication and trust. Please vote for Victoria Foley for Mayor of Biddeford on November 2nd.
Dr. Stephanie C. Edwards, MSW, PhD
Biddeford
Elect Arthur Archie to Saco School Board Ward 1
To the editor,
Never before have the stakes been higher for Ward 1 voters in Saco as they look to elect their next school board representative on November 2.
I hope they will join me in voting for Arthur Archie, a candidate who values truth, data, and science.
Candidate Archie understands consensus-building through rational deliberation and will provide steady and thoughtful leadership that adds to the forward momentum of the School Board under Chair Kevin Lafortune and Superintendent Jeremy Ray.
In contrast, challenger Ethan Alcorn has a lengthy record on social media that documents his allegiance to disinformation and conspiracy theories, as well as opposition to vaccines and “masked faces” based on false information. In a Facebook
post on March 9, 2021, on Maine Public Broadcasting’s CDC Covid-19 briefing, Mr. Alcorn calls the government response to the pandemic “… a fear and panic campaign of twisted science…”
Contrary to Mr. Alcorn’s other on-line conclusions, Covid vaccines do not cause infertility or serious side effects, nor are vaccine effective rates only at 40%. (Source: Ethan Alcorn post, Chellie Pingree’s Facebook Page, August 4, 2021.)
The “common sense” promised on Candidate Alcorn’s campaign signs is a ruse.
The choice on Nov. 2 is clear: please vote for Candidate Arthur Archie to lead Ward 1 forward with thoughtful, fact-based decisions that support our students and their learning in safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments.
The governance of our schools is no place for leaders who subscribe to fear-mongering and disinformation.
Inga Sandvoss Browne
Saco
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