At-large candidates
(Two seats)

William “Bil” Moriarty
Age: 34
Address: 24 Center St.  
Phone number: 205-0943
Occupation: Customer service agent
Family: Wife Amberlee, children Bill Jr., Autumn and Ashlee
Education: Able, University College Saco, University of Maine Augusta
Previous political experience: Biddeford Historical Preservation Committee, parent representative for Biddeford 3 Headstart
Why are you running for office? I want more people on the council that are looking out for the citizens of Biddeford and not their political careers. I would like to bring a common sense judgment to the council. For too long the citizens of Biddeford, including myself, have been ignored by certain members of the council. This needs to change. We need to have open communication at all times and communicate with the public as much as possible.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
Economy:  We have a real chance to make Biddeford the gateway to southern Maine. Everything from renovations of the mills to making Biddeford more business friendly is at the top of my list. The North Dam Mill should be the blueprint for mill development downtown. MERC will soon be leaving the downtown. When we lose that tax revenue we need to replace it. Having residents foot the bill for a lost revenue is unfair. I have a plan that involves saving the city money that would offset the loss. We have not heard anything about a plan to keep residents’ taxes down while we work to remove MERC. I believe MERC should stop polluting Biddeford. On the other hand, we need to have a plan to combat that loss of revenue along with a plan to get rid of our trash after MERC is gone that doesn’t cost more than when MERC was here.
 Education: This Nov. 3 we as a community have a decision to make. Do we want our children to attend a school that has not been renovated for 30 years or send them to a school that is warm and inviting, clean and safe? I will be voting yes for BHS and let me tell you why. Giving our kids the best possible school experience is key to their future. Now again we have a dilemma. The price tag for the renovation is $34 million. I have a plan for this too. While making cuts is always difficult we can combat the cost and potential rise of your taxes with a few simple cuts. No jobs will be lost with my plan and we can keep your taxes down. Making sure kids are safe no matter what grade, K to 12 and college, has to be a priority. I have three kids, all in Biddeford schools.
Open government: It is very important that residents and city officials communicate. With issues from renovation of BHS, MERC, mill development, property tax, crime and neighborhood development, it is important to be fiscally responsible and be accountable to residents. There is no reason not to seek public opinion and feedback on every issue facing the city of Biddeford. We need to address this critical problem of back room decision makes without the consent of the public. Being elected means you voice the opinions of your constituents not your own ideas. Time and time again a breakdown in communications leads to citizens being upset with an issue they are passionate about. I have a vision for Biddeford and it involves every resident. I have served this community for four years volunteering at In a Pinch Pantry. I will use those leadership skills to hear the opinions from every resident on every issue that is important to them. I will use common sense on the tough issues. Biddeford is rich in history, in culture and we need to come back to a time when every resident was heard, back when every resident looked out for their neighbor and not just during election time. I have maintained my Web site (www.bilmoriarty.com) for two years and will have daily postings on the city’s Web site to inform residents of new issues and receive input on matters they believe in.

Brian J. Pelletier
Age: 35
Address: 325 Granite St. Ext.
Phone number: 710-7727
Occupation: Self-employed, Brown Fox Printing
Family: Wife Michelle and three sons, Alec, Dylan and Tyler
Education: Biddeford High School, 1992
Previous political experience: Downtown Development Commission
Why are you running for office? Biddeford will face many issues in the next few years and I would like to be a part of solving those issues. As a small-business owner I understand the importance of a revitalized downtown. I am a fifth- generation Biddeford resident. I understand the history of our community and I embrace it. As the father of three, I understand the importance of a suitable learning environment. I feel it’s my time to serve the citizens of Biddeford. I believe this city needs, in one word, change. I would love to serve the citizens of a community that I love. I’m proud to say my family tree grows on Biddeford land.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
Revitalizing downtown – Biddeford must have a good line of communication between the property and business owners, both large and small. People should feel comfortable bringing their issues to city hall and be confident that they will be heard. Biddeford is moving in the right direction and I would like to take part in the progress.
 Maintaining city-owned properties – We are all aware of the crumbling face of BHS and the $34 million referendum. We are to blame. Every fiscal year the council has choices to make – there have been $50,000 gaps one year, $100,000 gaps the next. Now the cumulative result of these choices is that we are now faced with a proposed $34 million renovation of our high school.  Common sense, it appears, is not so common. Our schools and our children deserve better from us.  We as taxpayers should have the foresight to realize when and where to cut funding. I hate to think that our citizens on fixed incomes are going to be the hardest hit by these irresponsible choices.  We need to save money and limit spending where we can, but supporting our schools is a good example of when not to cut. We need forward thinking.
Rising crime within our city – Violent crime in our city is on the rise, we need to get it under control. We have an excellent Public Safety Department and they need all the support we can give them. This support includes giving the department the right tools and the right leadership. With the dire economic situation, higher unemployment, and few new jobs, crime rates could grow. We need to be proactive and have effective leadership.

 Patricia A. Boston
Age: 55
Address: 60 Hills Beach Road
Phone number: 282-0769
Occupation: Clinical Informatics Manager; RN, Southern Maine Medical Center
Family: Married 35 years to husband Dennis; two sons, Timothy, 23, and Zachary, 21.
Education: St. Louis High School; BSN, University of Southern Maine; MSN, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Previous political experience: City councilor 2007 to present: finance committee, wastewater committee, cable television committee. Biddeford School Committee, 2005-2007: policy committee chairman, curriculum committee, cable television committee. Charter Revision Commission, 2006, and Ad Hoc Institutional Zone Committee, 2001.
Why are you running for office? Biddeford is my hometown, and I have a sincere interest in its future. I have had the privilege of serving the city in various capacities, most recently as the city councilor for Ward 1. I want to use the experience and knowledge I have gained to continue to work for the betterment of Biddeford. My experience in management and in leadership roles at work and in civic and professional organizations, along with my critical thinking and communication skills, will be useful in addressing the issues affecting the city. I have demonstrated my willingness to invest the time required to carry out my responsibilities as city councilor. I “do my homework,” respond to constituents, keep an open mind and listen to various viewpoints, look for the facts, and encourage dialogue and collaboration. I am committed to serving and representing the citizens of Biddeford in a professional and civil manner.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
1.  Effective budgeting and planning
a.  Identify priorities, with citizen input, before department heads begin developing budgets.  
b.  Conduct the efficiency study authorized by the current council.
c.  Benchmark Biddeford against other communities of similar size and scope.   
d.  Study and improve the efficient use of space in city-owned buildings.
e.  Develop and fund a long-term plan for maintaining city facilities and infrastructure.
2.  Downtown development
a. Support development in the Mill District.
b. Encourage efforts of Downtown Development Commission and Heart of  Biddeford.
c.    Complete the Heart & Soul Downtown Master Plan.
3.  Preserving our environment
a. Remove trash incinerator from downtown.
b.  Institute curbside recycling.
c.  Continue storm-water separation projects.

John F. “Fred” Staples Jr.  
Age: 54
Address: 15 Decary Road
Phone number: 284-6332
Occupation: Central office technician for Fairpoint Communications
Family: Married, two children and three grandchildren
Education: Technical school
Previous political experience: Ward 2 city councilor
Why are you running for office? Because I love this city and its people and I fear that unrestrained governmental growth will hurt our children. The city council needs to have a conservative voice of reason and I think that I’m the best person in the field of at-large candidates to represent conservative values.  I believe that our forefathers were correct in that they believed that those who would govern best, govern least.  Government is not eloquence, it is brute force.  It doesn’t ask for your money, it takes it.  That is why it must be strictly limited.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
 Unrestrained growth of government and resulting high property taxes. I would push for budget cuts across the board and would support downsizing all city departments.
 Lack of good jobs. I would support reducing taxes and regulation on business, thereby encouraging jobs to move to Biddeford due to a friendly business climate.
 Revitalization. We need to restore the mill district. We need to restore the high school, though not necessarily through the current bond issue. And we need to restore our infrastructure, including Biddeford Municipal Airport.

George. A. (Pete) Lamontagne
Age: 65
Address: 58 Graham St.
Phone number: 283-1855
Occupation: Textiles, presently unemployed due to closure of West Point Home
Family: Wife Janice, three sons – George, Kevin and Randy
Education: Completed high school at the Braconne Center of Edcuation in France; one year at the University of Maine; graduate of Southern Maine Technical College with a state of Maine EMT license
Previous political experience: Ten years as a city councilor, including two years as council president
Why are you running for office? If things are good in your life you have to give some back. I have been serving my community and country for over 50 years and plan to keep doing so.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
The welfare and safety of our residents, the fair treatment of all residents whether you are from Yale or jail. I want to make sure that all the concerns and issues the residents may have are being addressed. I strive to help in any way I can with those residents that may be facing a difficult time because of tax issues.

Roch A. Angers
Age: 56
Address: 26 Cathedral Oaks Drive
Phone number: 282-7274
Occupation: Produce manager, Shaw’s Supermarket, Saco
Family: Wife Colombe Angers; two daughters Rebecca (Becky) and Natalie
Education: Biddeford High School, 1971; one year at Husson College and one year at St. Francis College in Biddeford.
Previous political experience: City councilor during the Lucien Dutremble, Roger Frechette, Roger Normand and Donna Dion administrations. I was elected council president during the Normand and Dion administrations. Former member of the school board in the Wallace Nutting administration (as a replacement for a member that resigned, served eight months). Present member of the Biddeford Planning Board, Biddeford Economic Commission and the Biddeford Housing Authority.
Why are you running for office? I believe that each and every one of us should give back to the community what it has given us. Giving back is something that makes you feel good. My former experience on the council is something that hopefully will help with the many decision that must be made.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
Most people in our community do not realize at this moment that the city budget is going to the biggest challenge that this community is going to undertake. The next fiscal budget will be a challenge on its own. Revenues form the federal government and state will have a decisive role in the budget deliberations. Brainstorming and meeting with city officials and our elected officials in coming up with ideas before some awful events happen. We need to have some kind of mater plan and be ready to implement it if needed. The remodeling of Biddeford High School is a top priority for this community. Being on the school board for eight months and touring the high school many times, I have come to realize that we should have invested monies in that school a long time ago. A new school may not be the answer for the accreditation of the high school but it will help show the state and the students that we as citizens do care about their well being and education. I openly support the passage of the bond for the high school. Maine Energy and our recycling program go hand in hand and are issues that need to continue to be at the forefront of the new administration. Everyone wants Maine Energy gone. The question to ask though, is what do we do after they are gone? What rate are we going to pay to have our trash hauled away? What is going to happen to our mil rate on these tough economic times? How do we fill in the void? We need to continue to sit at the table with Maine Energy and bring the other matter of recycling more to the table to work hand in hand with each other. The more we recycle the less waste we have, the less we pay to have it hauled away. Our volunteer recycling program works to a certain extent but we may have to take this issue with a little more clout and make recycling mandatory. It is an issue that has been talked about long enough and must come to the table and be voted on. This is not popular with the public, but it is an issue that most come forward and be addressed.

Richard Rhames
Age: 64
Address: 10 West Loop Road
Phone number: 282-2119
Occupation: Farmer, aging musician
Family: Wife Patricia and son Wesley
Education: Biddeford High School, 1964; Albion College in Michigan, 1968
Previous political experience: Councilor-at-large, 1999-2001; various municipal committees; Biddeford Democratic City Committee chairman, 1992-2009.
Why are you running for office? The mayor asked me to run.
    What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
1. For more than 20 years now, MERC has been “a knife in the heart of the downtown.” The corporate garbage shredder/burner, in addition to producing a sometimes powerful stench, also routinely emits dioxin and mercury. With a mere three years left on Biddeford’s contract, it is time to begin planning for a MERC-free future. The council on which I served in 1999 to 2001 passed an air toxics ordinance which gave the city authority to better regulate/police the incinerator. Sadly, the current contract limits that power somewhat. Biddeford needs to use the legal authority it has while continuing the mayor’s current strategy of working with the state to fund closure. Negotiations need to begin with ecomaine facilitating a more robust recycling effort and eventual membership in their democratically run operation. The city should look toward implementing a “flow control” ordinance to better manage Biddeford’s waste stream, as permitted by law.
2. Biddeford needs to do better in safeguarding the economic well-being of its citizens, especially its working class (and yes, it has one). When the city awards public subsidies to private interests such as cheap credit, cheap land, tax refunds, dedicated public infrastructure, gushing PR, etc., it should get something back. Local hiring targets, enforceable living wage standards, a commitment to protect the democratic rights of workers, and “claw-back” provisions (to recover the public’s money in cases of violation) could be included as part of the deal. But they never are. That could change. It should. In a time of decreasing revenue sharing from the state and federal government, the city needs to explore ways to make local taxation more progressive. We need to increase local participation in the state’s circuit breaker program and implement one of our own. Establishing a municipal ombud position (as envisioned in our comprehensive plan) would greatly aid in such an effort. A federal or state single-payer health insurance program would, if enacted, save Biddeford millions in its labor costs. This city and others need to weigh in on such matters, as we have in the past. Potential non-tax revenue streams that might help fund the city’s important public purposes need to be investigated. Our creaking city hall and our long-decrepit high school are evidence that new ways must be found.
 3. Biddeford’s current (and potential) working landscapes, ocean gateway to commercial fisheries, fast-flowing river, walkable downtown and rail access position us relatively well for the coming era of resource scarcity. Energy conservation strategies, municipal wind, hydro, geothermal, and solar projects will pay dividends. Sprawling land-use patterns which frankly have no future in a world of unstable petroleum supplies and volatile prices, need to be reconsidered. Some things – our air, water, productive land base, critical habitat areas, and downtown infrastructure – are simply too valuable to foul and waste and carelessly deplete any longer. We can do better, and I am cautiously optimistic that we will.

Ward 1

 Jim Emerson
Age: 56
Address: 127 Old Pool Road  
Phone number: 571-4188
Occupation: 35 years of financial and business management experience within large corporations and small businesses. Currently, the vice president of finance of a privately held company in Scarborough.
Family: Married to Joan Harper Emerson for 33 years. Three adult children: Daniel Patrick Emerson, 29, of Washington, D.C.; Andrew James Emerson, 27, of Plainville, Mass.; and Jacqueline Harper Emerson, 25, of New York City.
Education: Bachelor of Science in accounting from Bentley College, Waltham, Mass., and graduate studies at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass.
Previous political experience: Appointed to the Biddeford City Council in 2006 by Mayor Wallace Nutting to complete the remaining seven months of a Ward 1 council term. Served on the capital projections and operations committee and the personnel committee.
Why are you running for office? I deeply care about our community and I want to serve and help the residents of Ward 1. I also want to contribute to our city by helping it realize the opportunities and proactively deal with the challenge ahead. Ultimately, how those opportunities and challenges are managed comes down to the council’s policy decisions regarding the use and allocation of Biddeford’s financial, natural and human resources. I believe my analytical, problem-solving and planning skills; my experiences and involvement with non-profit organizations; and my prior experience on the council provides me with a unique and strong background to contribute as a city councilor.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
Financial management ­– Balancing the needs and desires of the community with its ability to pay for them will also be the council’s largest challenge. The council needs to set policies to: improve the budget cycle so that it provides general guidelines, set specific priorities and goals and expected outcomes to the city manager and staff long before the annual budgetary work begins; adopt formal measurements of city operations and continuous improvement processes within its operations to ultimately lower the cost of our local government; share or consolidate services within the city or other communities where appropriate if it lowers costs and maintains or improves services; improve the cooperation and communication between the city council and school committee, particularly in regard to the annual budget cycle.
Business development – Attracting businesses to create job opportunities for its citizens and lower the burden of residential taxpayers needs to be a continuous priority of the council. The council needs to ensure that critical staff positions such as the economic development director do not go unfilled for extended periods. The council needs to initiate and support policies that proactively help the owners and developers of the Mill District, attracting new businesses that complement and enhance the downtown, and bring opportunities to the business and industrial parks.
Health and safety of neighborhoods – MERC continues to be of the most obvious and significant risk to the health of our city and its residents. It is also a prime barrier to the revitalization of our downtown and Mill District. The city council needs greater participation in the current task force dealing with the future of MERC. The broader council needs to ensure a faster pace, greater transparency and that the direction is the will of the council. The council needs to set policies and expand neighborhood programs and initiatives already established by the city and community groups. The council needs to facilitate planning with the ultimate goal of achieving a balanced delivery of emergency services to all of the city’s neighborhoods. The council needs to actually move the city to a much greater level of recycling.

Suzanne Y. Sexton    
Age: 60    
Address: 158 Guinea Road    
Phone number: 282-1763
Occupation: Administrative assistant, Wastewater Department of Saco, 20 years
Family: Grady, husband of 40 years; daughter Karen Genest and her husband, Brian, granddaughters Kayla and Kaitlyn; son William Sexton, his wife, Brenda, and grandson Brady.
Education: St. Joseph High School, 1967; Pierre’s School of Cosmetology, 1968, state license; USM Saco, continuing education; speaks five languages.
Previous political experience: Served four years in student council, St. Joseph High School; several appointments by mayor to the Wastewater Commission and the Downtown Development Commission.
Why are you running for office? My goal is to see the city run as a business. It is a multi-million dollar business that is not taken seriously enough. The boss (taxpayers) is struggling to make ends meet and the employee (city government) is not listening very well. I will not make promises I cannot keep, but my promise is to keep departments honest and accountable in spending.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
Biddeford Municipal Airport: I believe that it could be an asset to the city. I am in favor of it, but I also am in favor of collecting as much information as possible in order to make the right decision for the betterment of the city and its citizens.
 Redevelopment and the downtown and mills: We need to be aware that our downtown is dying because of the outward sprawl. Government must take an active role in possibly making TIFs available to the developers to encourage redevelopment and growth to the tax base of our city.
 Welfare: I am not against helping my fellow man, but everything has a price. I would like to work with the department and change it to a workfare. It was always intended to be a hand up, not a hand out. This is a labor force that could be very valuable to the community.

Ward 2

Ward 2 candidate David J. Bourque did not return a candidate survey.

Dennis R. Anglea
Age: 50
Address: 10 Foss St.
Phone number: 251-2424
Occupation: Self-employed
Family: I have three daughters, ages 31, 30 and 19
Education: Bachelor’s degree
Previous political experience: none
Why are you running for office? I feel it’s time for me to serve the citizens of Biddeford. My reason is simple: we need change. I’m proud to say I live in Biddeford.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
 Revitalizing our downtown:  The city needs a good line of communication between the businesses and property owners, large and small. People should feel comfortable bringing issues to the city and be confident that they will be heard.
Rising crime in our city: Violent crime in our city is on the rise. We need to get it under control. The police, city and the citizens of this city need to work together.

 Kenneth D. Hutchins (write-in candidate)
Age: 66
Address: 73 Pike St.
Phone number: 282-6838
Occupation: United State Army, retired; Department of Defense Police, retired. Logistics coordinator for York County Emergency Management Agency.
Family: Married with five children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren
Education: Earned GED while in the Army; three years of college; two years at SMVTI in South Portland for fire technology and criminology
Previous political experience: Served on the Solid Waste Commission and Waste Water Commission
Why are you running for office? I’m tired of seeing my tax money used in all the wrong ways, such as one city pick-up being on Route 5 in Lyman overnight and one on North Street in Saco overnight. I know this to be fact as I do plowing in the winter months and I have accounts in Lyman and Saco. It is kind of disturbing to see a city vehicle parked in another city. And when you drive by the recreation center on Hill Street you see sometimes six city pick-ups parked in front of the building. Why do we have so many pick-up trucks to begin with? Why are there an average of 10 to 15 city employees on a job site when five employees could do the job? Why do we have a “parking enforcement officer” doing the job of a police officer by directing traffic when he should be doing the job he was hired to do, and that is “parking control” only? Why do the parks still have signs saying “Park Closed” after a certain hour? Why is a city pickup being used for personal use parked at Hannaford? Why do we have a city manager and a mayor? And why does the city manager get paid thousands of dollars when we could raise the pay of the mayor and let the mayor do the same job?
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
 Why are we thinking of laying off public safety personnel, including in the fire department? We should look at what happened in Boston a while back when they enacted a deal to cut back on public safety. The crime rate went up real fast and the fire department let buildings burn because they did not have the manpower to operate the equipment needed. The injured had to wait a long time for medical help and some died because of the response time of the medical personnel. They did not have the manpower to operate the ambulances needed for a city that size. We do not need to lay off any person that is connected with public safety. Department heads need to tighten the rules on vehicle usage and the amount of personnel it takes to do a job.
Maine Energy Recovery Co. I have no comment on MERC.
Taxes. If elected I will fight very hard to place a curb on our taxes that have gotten out of hand. I will not make any promises, but if I’m elected I will fight to change our current way of doing business and seek a solution to ease the problems we are facing today because tomorrow will be too late. I will fight to have a cap placed on our taxes. I will fight to have new ideas come to reality. I will listen to my constituents and bring their ideas forward for a better city and ward. I will not vote on any subject without talking to my constituents first, as I’m there to represent them. No matter who I feel on any matter brought forward I will vote in favor of my constituents.

Ward 3

 Matthew R. Hight
Age: 46
Address: 147 West St.  
Phone number: 284-7886
Occupation: I have worked for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection as an environmental specialist for 23 years.
Family: Married, two school-aged children
Education: I studied environmental analysis at UNE and took graduate level courses in ecological planning at USM
Previous political experience: I have been involved in various advisory committees in Biddeford since the early 1990s, including recycling, cable TV, ad-hoc sewer fee, conservation commission and policy. I served one term as a city councilor. As councilor, I chaired the cable committee and was a member of the environmental board and the policy committee. I have been a member of the Biddeford Democratic Committee since the early 1990s. I have attended all the local caucuses since then and have been a delegate to the Maine Democratic Convention. As a co-host of a local public access show, I have interviewed candidates for federal, state, county and local offices as well as a great number of guests very knowledgeable of the political process.
Why are you running for office? I am running for city council because I think it is the responsibility of citizen to participate in government. I will bring experience, views and knowledge that may not otherwise be represented to the council.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
The economy: The question is how do we bring about a local broad-based prosperity. Taxation, investment and regulation are necessary to this, but how do we direct our efforts to promote prosperity? We need a vision that considers the best interest of industrial, high-tech, service and office workers, professionals, fishermen, farmers, local business and the self-employed. Meanwhile we can’t forget the big businesses, tourist and vacationers with a presence here. The city government has limited ability to affect the overall economy, but it does have the responsibility to keep dollars local to the extent that it can. Taxation, spending and regulation can all be tailored to this end. The local option Circuit Breaker program is the perfect example: It reduces taxes on those who can afford them least, local residents who pay more than four percent of their income on property tax. It is paid for by the rest of the tax base that can afford to pay, much of which will come from out of town, but all the benefits stay local. I prefer policies that guarantee local benefits rather than just hope for them. Promoting big box development, the purpose of which is to take local wealth to their corporate headquarters, wherever that may be, does not even offer hope for local prosperity.
 The environment: My study of ecology has taught me that all things are interconnected, sometimes in obvious ways, sometimes in subtle, obscure ways. The interconnections between the environment and the economy are both manifest and unknown. A beautiful and healthy environment is obviously a critical part of quality of life for people in Biddeford, which is part of why people want to live, work and vacation here. If we and the people who are drawn here destroy the beauty and the sense of place, then what will we have? There are lots of places where you can live in a subdivision near big box stores. There are a lot fewer coastal New England towns with industrial infrastructure, farms, forests and beaches. We have something special, let’s not ruin it. That is why I support Mayor Twomey’s Open Space Committee and I am opposed to the city planner’s proposed Shoreland Zoning Ordinance changes that would allow more residential and commercial development adjacent to coastal wetlands especially around Biddeford Pool and Granite Point.
Education: Providing decent, safe schools for our students is a basic requirement if we care about the education of our children. Remember these are citizens who hold the future of Biddeford and the United States in their hands. If we fail to take care of our high school, what will that teach them about how to take care of our country?

Clement A. Fleurent
Age: 73
Address: 295 Granite St. Ext.  
Phone number: 283-3772
Occupation: semi-retired
Family: Wife Virginia C. Fleurent; one daughter and two sons – Betsy; Tony and his wife, Tammy; Tom and his wife, Shannon
Education: St. Louis High School
Previous political experience: City council, six years; planning board, two years; finance committee and capital project committee, two years.
Why are you running for office? Because I’ve lived here all my life. I know what needs this city has. I believe that with the knowledge I have I can vote accordingly for a better Biddeford.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
Taxes: I will vote to control spending and promote a responsible city budget. I believe in being fiscally conservative and properly prioritize the needs of the city.
Biddeford High School:  Since $34 million of repairs didn’t come overnight, then we as a council must oversee those responsible for the decline.
Infrastructure:  Though we are making progress through bonds, we must increase and not decrease the paving program as was done this year.
 I am not in favor of closing the airport, but maintain it was intended to be a recreational airport. We must stop accepting money from the FAA and regain control of our city-owned airport.

Ward 4

 Alfred J. Lamontagne
Age: 53
Address: 6 Penny Ave.
Phone number: 284-7585
Occupation: Maintenance for Princeton Properties Inc.
Family: Wife, Linda Lamontagne, son Matthew David Lamontagne, daughter Angela Nicole Lamontange.
Education: Westbrook High School graduate
Previous political experience: I have no previous political experience but I think my being an average citizen and having common sense will be good for others as I try to make a difference. I hope to make a contribution.
Why are you running for office? I’ve never backed away from a chance to try something new and get out of my comfort zone.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them? 1. The high school has been neglected for years. I hope to be able to solve the issue through dialogue, patience and sacrifice. 2. We have to bring back a diversity of jobs, not just retail. 3. Taxes are way too high. Maine is one of the highest taxed states in the U.S. We can have fundraisers to help, like citizens do for little things like building new churches. Let’s think a little bigger.

Ward 5

Name: Bob Mills
Age: 44
Address: 22 Graham St.
Phone number: 571-9108
Occupation: Sales and delivery
Family: Wife, Heather (former school committee member); sons Trenton, 7, and Cooper, age 6 months.
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Texas Wesleyan University, 1995, major in political science and minor in finance. Master of Science, Liberty University, December 2009, management.
Previous political experience: elected to Biddeford Charter Revision Commission, 2005; candidate, York County Commissioner, 2006; elected to Biddeford City Council, 2007; candidate, York County Register of Probate, 2008.
Why are you running for office? There are many projects that are facing our city and ward, which I would like to see completed. Keeping our government accountable is my primary goal and concern.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
1. The high school renovation needs to be completed. I am confident and support the referendum 100 percent as it is our children’s future.
 2. Reducing the multiple line items that waste money in our city’s budget. Our budget is funding by our taxpayers, after being on the council for the past two years I see a variety of changes that can be implemented.
3. Change the way the budget committee operates. We, as a council, should make changes during the entire hearing process to be more effective.

Ward 6

Name: Richard “Rick” Laverriere
Age: 53
Address: 371 South St.  
Phone number: 282-5272
Occupation: Production and control
Family: Married to Rachel for 33 years; daughters Shari, 28, and Lori, 26
Education: Biddeford High School, 1974
Previous political experience: Two-term city councilor
Why are you running for office? I have a continuing desire to help the citizens of this great city. The city of Biddeford has a lot of upcoming challenges and I look forward to making the necessary and tough decisions that will be required. Biddeford is on the verge of great things in the downtown area and I would like to be part of the excitement.
What are the top three issues facing Biddeford and how will you address them?
Biddeford High School: The high school is in critical need of repairs and updates. No one in this city wants to pay higher taxes but when it comes to the children of this city and their future, it’s an expense that in my opinion we must take on and do the right thing by our children. I would hope that the people in the city will join me and vote yes for the Biddeford High school renovations project.
The mill district and downtown area:  I will continue to support agenda items that will help make the mill district and the downtown area become revitalized with more housing, jobs, shops and restaurants a reality.
 Maintaining city-owned properties: The city has many building and properties that have deteriorated due to lack of funding and lack of attention by past administrations going back a decade or so. This city this past year, because a bond to restore the city hall clock tower failed, spent approximately $190,000 just to stop the tower from leaking and making more damage to city hall, and justt o remove parts from the tower before they fell and caused damage or injuries. The work did not do much in terms of doing the repairs that were and still are required. An aggressive plan needs to be developed with a goal of keeping up with repairs and work that is required to maintain these buildings.

Ward 7 council candidate and incumbent Raymond Gagnon did not return a candidate survey.