I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Two rather interesting events happened this week, each painting a troubling picture for loyal, solid Democrats at both the national and local level: Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced he would not seek reelection, and City Councilor Marty Grohman was elected to become Biddeford’s next mayor.

What do Manchin and Grohman have in common?

Bear with me, because I think these two stories serve as a bellwether of a changing political landscape that has long alienated people in the so-called political “middle,” the centrists who are weary of extremists on both the left and the right of the political spectrum.

Currently, Democrats have a razor-thin majority in the United States Senate, including the so-called “Independent” senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and our own Angus King, both of whom caucus with the Democrats and consistently follow the marching orders of both Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden.

It’s really nothing short of a miracle that any Democrat could win an election in a state like West Virginia, which is more red than Biddeford City Councilor Marc Lessard’s campaign signs. Manchin’s decision spells very bad news for the Democrats and will no doubt reshape the battle for senate control in 2024.

“Manchin's moderate positions have at times been a thorn in the side of his increasingly left-leaning party,” according to ABC News political analysts.

So how does this connect to the rather mundane and much less dramatic world of Biddeford politics?

Theoretically, Biddeford’s municipal elections are supposed to be a “non-partisan” affair. Biddeford voters approved a change to the city’s charter in the late 1980s to dump the partisan labels of Democrat and Republican.

But if you really believe our local elections are non-partisan, I’ve got an ocean-front home to sell you in Ohio.

Make no mistake, despite all the pontificating, handwringing and lack of primaries, local elections are still very much influenced by each candidate’s political label. Not by his or her merits, but by his or her political allegiance.

Local Democrat leaders like State Rep. Marc Malon will tell you that’s not true.

It should be noted here that on top of his elected office, Malon is also professionally employed by the Maine Democrat Party. He currently serves as Party Affairs Director for the party.

Malon is a good guy. He’s very smart, and he is passionate about his politics. He works hard, and has a unique perspective on Maine’s political landscape. It’s his job to make sure that Democrat candidates get elected in Maine, even in places like Biddeford that are supposedly “non-partisan.”

So why do I keep saying “supposedly?”

Because partisan politics still plays a big role in Biddeford’s political circles and games, despite what the city’s charter says about municipal elections.

That said, state and local Democrat leaders, including Malon, did absolutely nothing wrong. Let me repeat that in order to be perfectly clear: No one on the ballot (nor their supporters) did anything wrong during Biddeford’s most recent election cycle.

So why am I taking the time to write about an election with zero incidents of impropriety by any of the candidates or their supporters? First, I am a local political junkie. Secondly, because I see a major shift starting to happen in both local and national elections.

In a story I wrote for Saco Bay News just a few hours after the results were announced, I listed those who supported and endorsed each of the mayoral candidates: Susan Deschambault and Marty Grohman. I posted that story on my personal Facebook page with a teaser, asserting that the Democrat Party closed ranks on a local level and clearly lined up behind Deschambault over Grohman.

It’s understandable (and quite predictable) that Democrat leaders would line up behind a Democrat over an “independent” or a Republican candidate in a general election, even though party affiliation isn’t supposed to matter in a non-partisan election.

Overall, the city of Biddeford – like many other mill towns -- has a long history of leaning to the political left. Today, however, it seems that it’s becoming a matter of how far left a candidate needs to be in order to win elected office in the city.

I have a theory about why notable Democrat leaders were so enthusiastic about supporting Deschambault over Grohman. In a nutshell, it was political pay-back. Allow me to explain.

Both Deschambault and Grohman served on the city council. Both candidates served in the Maine Legislature. They had very similar platforms. In fact, during an October head-to-head debate, the only real difference that was clear to the audience was that Grohman likes to ride a bicycle and Deschambault says she likes to avoid both bicycles and walking.

Just days before the election, Mayor Alan Casavant repeated his support for Marty Grohman to take over the big chair at City Hall. On that same day, the Deschambault campaign ran an advertisement in the Biddeford-Saco Courier, listing local politicians who were endorsing Deschambault.

Deschambault’s list of supporters was impressive: State Sen. Henry Ingwersen, the highest state official serving Biddeford, was on that list. The rest of Biddeford’s delegation, including Malon and Rep. Erin Sheehan, were on that list. Former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Ryan Fecteau was on that list.

Previous state representatives Megan Rochelo and Victoria Foley (who lost her own bid for mayor against Casavant two years ago) was on that list. Previous mayors Mike Cantara and Bonita (Belanger) Pothier were on that list. Weeks before, Malon and Fecteau both used their personal Facebook pages to endorse Deschambault.

Pretty impressive, huh? What do they all have in common? They are all active, strident and loyal Democrats. On a local level, these folks are all political heavy-hitters. If you want something done, these are the people who can make it happen.

But it wasn’t just local Democrats who were offering assistance for Deschambault.

According to campaign finance reports, Deschambault’s campaign also got the support of many individuals well outside of Biddeford, including Democrat Party activist and former legislator Justin Alfond and State Senator Joe Baldacci, younger brother of former governor John Baldacci, both of whom wrote checks for Deschambault.

I saw that ad and thought to myself, it’s all over for Grohman. I publicly predicted that Deschambault would win the race. Despite what some people like Alan Casavant say, Biddeford is pretty much a blue community. Or is it?

But then something strange happened. Deschambault lost. Wait. What?

Despite such an impressive list of Democrat supporters and the fact that Biddeford most often votes blue, the party wasn’t powerful enough to knock off Grohman, the more centrist candidate.

Deschambault’s track record in the State Senate was basically flawless. She did whatever the party leaders told her to do. She always voted the way they wanted. She played nice. She toed the party’s line.

Good for her. She’s a Democrat. She voted the party line. Yawn.

During his stint in the Legislature, Grohman sometimes had the temerity to look at issues from a more centrist position. Furthermore, he had the audacity to run as an “independent” candidate against Democrat Chellie Pingree for the First Congressional District race. That was enough, right there.

The Republicans may have the symbol of an elephant, but the Democrats are the ones who “never forget.” Deschambault was being rewarded for her party loyalty, Grohman was being punished for thinking for himself.

Shortly after I posted my story on Facebook, Malon went on the defense.

“As a staffer for the Maine Democratic party and one of the electeds (sic) who endorsed Susan, I am pretty confident offering this analysis: there is little to no impact on the political landscape in Biddeford for state/federal races,” he wrote. “This is based on previous municipal and state/federal results and my analysis of this particular race . . .”

I responded to Malon, “ . . . but there is no denying that party stalwarts lined up solidly behind Deschambault: Baldacci, Alfond, the entire legislative delegation (current and former).”

Malon came back: “because they all knew her and liked her. Honestly that’s about the extent of it.”

Again, I like Marc. We have plans to get together for some good whiskey soon. We’re both political animals, but I’m not buying what he’s selling. Because they knew and liked her?? Are you freakin’ kidding me??

They all know Marty Grohman, too. What, exactly, did they not like about him? Because he rides a bicycle to work? Because he is a successful businessman? Because he has blue eyes? Because he volunteers at the skating rink and helps veterans? Spare me.

Biddeford is changing, including its political machinations, and that started more than 20 years ago, when MERC was still burning trash downtown. A Republican, Saco native (Gen. Wallace Nutting), beat two well-known, lifelong residents for the mayor’s seat. Ever since, the Democrats’ iron grip on the city has been slowly eroding.

I agree with musician Sheryl Crow, “a change will do you good.”

My advice to the Democrats? You’re gonna need a bigger boat.

Randy Seaver can be contacted at randy@randyseaver.com.