A recent summons after an alleged assault at a local business in downtown Biddeford highlights interconnected major problems that the city refuses to face.

On April 13, Biddeford Councilor Julian Schlaver (Ward 5) was summoned for assault by an unnamed server at a local restaurant. Described by Schlaver contradictorily as “inadvertent” and “a friendly gesture at the end of the night” (“Two Biddeford City Councilors resign after receiving criminal charges,” Courier/Post, April 19), the assault and Schlaver’s resignation from the City Council highlights far broader issues underneath the surface in Biddeford, a town becoming known as a hip tourist destination differentiating itself from high-end Kennebunkport to the south and retro-classic Old Orchard Beach to the north.

Schlaver is a local business owner and property developer; he co-owns the Suger Bōle clothing and gift boutique on Washington Street as well as a Suger store in Portland with his wife, Roxi Suger, and, as the Courier report noted, is “enmeshed with the downtown.” Though the article does detail some parts of the incident, it emphasizes Schlaver’s point of view and, in my view, intimated his voluntary resignation was sacrificial due to an incident that Schlaver views as a misunderstanding.

This attitude is not surprising, in the local press or in Biddeford governance and business communities. Another incident last summer, in which a server at a downtown hotel bar was extensively verbally abused and had a drink (with glass) thrown at their head by a local restaurant owner, property developer and landlord, was never reported on as the police were not called.

However, the service community – folks who increasingly cannot afford to live in Biddeford because of property developers and venture capitalist landlords driving up rental prices – talk to each other. Everyone knows these stories; they are passed up Main Street by servers, bartenders, dishwashers, line cooks, retail workers, bakers and baristas, permeating local consciousness. The message? Be wary; whatever happens with any property owner in Biddeford, it’s always “inadvertent,” and you’re always overreacting.

The bottom line is this: Biddeford must work harder to support, respect and fully represent the folks who allow (sm)all business to thrive.

This is not an expendable population – no population should be – and Biddeford cannot do without the variety of folks who can’t afford to live here but can serve drinks and food and run registers across town. It is not only about respect for bodily autonomy and personal dignity. It’s also about recognizing that the people who work here are a crucial contributing heart of the community; more so than the developers and property owners who guide policy through local governance and nonprofit advocacy organizations.

Maybe it is time that the folks working in these businesses became the heart of Biddeford. Put these folks on the boards, bring them on as consultants, listen to them in community meetings. Let them shine a light into the future of this rapidly growing town, and move away from a “more money, more say, less responsibility” politic.

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