If you ask Alan Casavant to describe his time as Biddeford’s mayor, he’ll tell you he used the same basic approach that he used as a high school teacher for more than 35 years.

Casavant, 71, is now completely retired as both a teacher and politician. He served 12 years (six consecutive terms) as the city’s mayor, first elected to that position in 2011. He also served four terms in the Maine Legislature as a state representative and served on the Biddeford City Council for 18 years, first elected in 1975.

He was born and raised in Biddeford and graduated from Biddeford High School in 1970. Initially, he majored in psychology during his first two years of college at the University of Southern Maine, but during his junior year, he transferred to the University of Maine Orono and decided to study teaching.

As fate would have it, he was assigned to Biddeford High School in order to complete his student teaching requirement. He was then hired as a permanent substitute teacher and then became a full-time social studies teacher at his alma mater.

He also coached the Biddeford High School hockey team, leading the Tigers to a state championship and is remembered by many people as a formidable broom ball player.

Casavant became the city’s second-longest serving mayor. Only Louis “Papa” Lauzier served longer than Casavant, from 1941 to 1955 – a total of 14 years.

You didn’t want to break Mayor Lausier’s record? Just one more term?

(Laughs) “No. I never set out with the idea of serving as long as I did. In fact, I had pretty much decided that I was going to step down two years ago, but I had a friend who convinced me to serve just one more term, and it appealed to me because I felt like there was still some unfinished business to take care of.

“I’m 71 years old, and I had done it for 12 years. I don’t think anyone intended to have any one mayor serve that long, but the real trump card was losing the hearing in my left ear.”

You first ran for city council when you were just 23 years old, which means the bulk of your life has been serving the city of Biddeford as an elected leader. What drew you into local politics?

“I really enjoyed politics. The process and the players intrigued me. The psychology of it (Laughs). I enjoyed being part of the decision-making process, and having input. I used to tell my students – and it’s not to be taken egotistically – but I trusted me making the decisions more than I trusted anybody else. (Laughs)

“I felt, if I was on the outside looking in, I could give my view but that didn’t mean my viewpoint would resonate with the person I was talking to, whereas – actually being there I could listen but I could also be an active, very-active participant. I really enjoyed that.”

How has Biddeford’s political world changed over the last 50 years, going back to when you first ran for the council in the 1970s?

“It’s changed so much. I think people were more in tune with the political process back then; with what was happening at City Hall back in the ‘70s. You had little organizations all over the city, where politics were discussed, such as the Green Lantern Club on Green Street.

“There was more public input because people were more aware of what was going on back then. We had a daily paper covering everything happening in the city. The mayor was a much stronger position, but it was also more familiar. You didn’t have the nastiness, and I say that because I was always in the minority back then. There were three of us on the council in our 20s. It was always the majority against me, Dick Lambert and Billy Zuke. So many of the council votes were 8-3. It was more friendly. We would all go out together after the meetings for a bull session at Bull’s Café.”

What motivated you to run for mayor against an incumbent (Joanne Twomey) who was widely considered as basically unbeatable?

“The casino proposal that she was supporting concerned me, but it was much more about a philosophical and process difference. During that time period, too many people were watching council meetings as entertainment. The meetings were often bombastic and confrontational.

“I just thought that I could do a better job. I had retired from teaching, so I had the time. I just believed that a lot of people were ready for a change.”

Besides wanting to change the tone of how business was conducted during council meetings, what were your other priorities?

“Well certainly, the issues surrounding the Maine Energy [Recovery Company] plant loomed very large on my screen. I thought that had to be resolved because of what I had learned and come to believe. Not only was it an economic issue and an environmental issue, it was also a psychological issue. It was as if the city had given up on itself. We had become known as “Trash Town, U.S.A.” I knew that had to change.”

Why do you think public participation in local government has declined so much?

“I’m convinced that it’s a lack of knowledge. If you look back at the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, everybody read the Journal Tribune and/or the Courier. Reporters back then would pursue the stories until the end. When David [Flood] sold the Courier and the Journal closed, there became a vacuum of legitimate news. I also think some people may feel jaded by the process because of the misinformation that abounds on social media like Facebook.”

What do you think was your greatest accomplishment as mayor?

“Recreating pride in Biddeford. It’s nothing really physical. It’s just people in Biddeford actually believe in themselves as a community again. It was as if the community had lost its mojo; the recession, the Maine Energy plant, downtown business closings - - the glass was always half empty.

“People now openly brag about living in Biddeford. I recently saw an ad from a Kennebunk hotel that pointed out they were located only five minutes from Biddeford.”

What was your biggest disappointment during your 12 years as mayor?

[Pauses] “Probably dealing with the housing issue. Trying to figure that out and recognizing that there is no easy answer. There’s no instant answer, especially since it’s a regional, statewide and even national issue.

“We really need a regional approach. There has to be a concerted effort, driven by the state.”

Do you miss being the mayor?

(Laughs) Yes and no. I can’t even watch the meetings right now. I miss the adrenaline rush of being right in the middle of everything. I don’t want to meddle, which is really difficult for me to do. (Laughs) It’s really hard to do something for 12 years and then just stop, suddenly being out of the loop and not knowing exactly what’s going on - - just stopping cold turkey. It’s a little strange.

“There is also relief. When I was mayor, I’d spend almost an hour every morning and every night responding to e-mails. Now I maybe get four e-mails a day.” (Laughs)

As a politician, do you see social media as helpful?

“I call it anti-social media. Most of it is very disparaging and accusatory. It took me about a week or two as mayor to decide that I wasn’t going to read most of it. Otherwise, I’d see things that I didn’t say or do, and it got so frustrating. It’s so often just a rumor mill.”

What do you see as challenges on Biddeford’s horizon?

“Well, obviously the housing issue is going to dominate our conversations for a long time, and we’ll need to tackle that situation; but we also are looking at lots of other major budgetary issues, including staffing. How do we retain and attract professional employees? People want services, but that cost money. You can’t have it all.

“I also worry that our economy is slowing a bit in the downtown. The downtown really defines who we are as a community, and it’s important for our overall economy.”

Your political adversaries blame you for pushing so hard for a municipal parking garage.

“The reality is that we actually need at least two parking garages. The next one needs to be near the corner of Main and Alfred streets. It’s interesting to me that in so many other cities, whether it’s Westbrook or Portland or Auburn, there is virtually no resistance to parking garages.”

You describe your role as mayor as simply an extension of your time as a high school teacher.

“It’s the same skill set and the same techniques. It was about repeating, repeating and repeating information so that the kids could get it; it was about connecting the dots so that they could understand it; and it was also about forming relationships and helping them feel good about themselves.

“It’s never just one person leading the city. You really need a team approach, it’s like a quilt with several different patches. It’s rewarding, sometimes frustrating but if you have the right people around you -- if you can build a team with lots of different perspectives -- then you can do almost anything.”

Randy Seaver is a cranky, nearly insufferable malcontent living in Biddeford. He is a retired newspaper editor and the principal of a small strategic communications consulting firm. He may be contacted at randy@randyseaver.com

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