New Ward 4 Biddeford City Councilor appointed

BIDDEFORD — Ashanti Williams has been appointed the new Ward 4 City Councilor, and he is believed to be the first Black member of the City Council.

Williams replaces Robert Quattrone, who resigned from the Ward 4 seat in March because he was moving out of the city. Williams was appointed to the position at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

“As a man of color, Mr. Williams could be a voice for a population that has never, to my knowledge, had representation on the Biddeford City Council before,” said Councilor Doris Ortiz.

Ortiz said Biddeford is becoming more diverse, and the City Council needs to show the younger generation that people from different backgrounds can find a commonality and work together for the city.           

Williams is a bar manager and actor and has also worked as a corrections officer.

He referred to Biddeford as a “beautiful, magical city.”

“I love this city like it was a living human being,” he said. He said, like a human, the city has character, and has good and bad days, and he wants to help Biddeford reach its full potential.

Williams said he will bring an open mind to the council and a willingness for dialogue.

“Thank you and I will not let you down,” he said.

Mayor Alan Casavant said he met Williams at a Black Lives Matter event where Williams was doing a spoken word performance. Casavant said Williams impressed him as articulate, engaging and smart. He said he had wanted to appoint Williams to a committee to work on neighborhood engagement and combating racism, but the committee never evolved due to the pandemic.

“Ashanti’s appointment would not only be the appointment of a talented, qualified man, but a symbol to all minorities that Biddeford is a welcoming place and one in which the doors are open for governmental participation,” he said.

Casavant said he could have appointed someone with experience on the Council, but he chose instead to appoint someone new.

 The demographics of Biddeford are changing, said Casavant. He said when he first became involved in local politics, it was a group of white men from similar backgrounds who had the same social circles and friends.

“The strength of this council remains in its diversity of background and points of view,’ he said. Diversity opens up opportunities for learning, he said. Everyone sees the world through their own unique lens through their upbringing and experiences. To get a better understanding of the world, it is critical to listen to others and attempt to understand their views and their experiences.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.