At the risk of disclosing my age, I remember a time when Waterville’s Republican mayors were respected statesmen who would never dream of denigrating anyone — young or old, rich or poor — and whose agenda had little to do with party affiliation. Mayors like Don Marden and Cyril Joly were elected because of their standing in the community, their upbeat attitude about Waterville and its people, and their integrity. Back then, Washington politics was as far removed from Maine as Mars from Earth.

Fast forward to 2018 and Washington-style polarization and put-downs have finally insinuated themselves into Waterville’s political dialogue. Even our denigrator-in-chief in Augusta — never one to let a partisan bruhaha slip by without weighing in — has pontificated about First Amendment rights and inserted himself into employment decisions of Skowhegan Savings Bank.

Mayor Nick Isgro becomes emotional as his wife addresses people gathered during a City Council meeting Tuesday in the council chamber in Waterville. Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro is receiving backlash over a tweet in which he appears to have told Florida school shooting survivor David Hogg to "Eat it, Hogg." The tweet has since disappeared from Isgro's Twitter feed. Screen grab from Twitter

Thus I feel behooved to throw in my two bucks (the proverbial two cents being somewhat inflated nowadays). First, I would ask our esteemed mayor to identify the “well connected and wealthy political elites” he claims are bent on “rolling back our accomplishments.” Also, he should provide evidence of his assertion that “the effort they have started with their friends in the media and (the) dark money funded outsiders who do not live in our city — are an attack on all of us.” As a lifelong citizen of Waterville, I believe I have a right to know who is behind any effort to bankroll an attack on me.

Furthermore, I would like Councilor Sydney Mayhew to disclose where the “dark ideological corner” he speaks of is located. Since my political persuasion and his may differ, I certainly hope it’s not in my neck of the woods. I’m all for letting the sun shine in. And my question to school board member Julian Payne is, who, pray tell, belongs to this “small nucleus of the usual known suspects hell bent on ideologies who spread discontent and untruths throughout our community”? Payne describes them as “octupuses of discontent” that “have long tentacles that reach into every home.” Gadzooks. I haven’t seen any tentacles laying about, but I will be sure to keep an eye out for any suspicious looking protuberances and lock both front and back doors.

On a more serious note, I understand that Mayor Nick Isgro is a devoted father, so I would ask him to imagine the following event happening: One day when your son attends school, the fire alarm sounds and the school is put on lock down. He is herded into a classroom to hide, and for six minutes he hears a gunman firing multiple rounds from a semi-automatic rifle. Then he and his classmates are told to run from the school to safety. Later he learns that 17 of his classmates have been killed. Some are close friends. He attends their funerals and weeps. It is a day he will remember forever.

Later, your son must endure widespread false allegations and criticism — one from a prominent commentator. Conspiracy theories about him spread like wildfire across social media.

So Mr. Mayor, my question to you is: how would you feel about this outcome? Would you be angry? Outraged? Saddened? My guess is, all of the above.

If you are the person I hope you are, I would ask that you put conscience over ego and apologize to Mr. Hogg and to the people of Waterville whom you represent for the disrespectful tweets you have made on social media. My guess is they don’t represent the sentiments of most Mainers.

Last Sunday, I met with a group of Waterville-area folks who decided to write to Hogg and commend him for standing firm on principle and speaking truth to power. We believe the young are the future of our country, worthy of our support when they elect to become engaged in public policy.

In closing, I would remind the mayor that his role is essentially to serve as a goodwill ambassador for our city. And while it is true that under the Constitution he can say whatever he wishes, words are powerful tools that can be used to divide or unite.

I hope Isgro chooses the latter course of action going forward — and helps make our city a friendly, welcoming, and safe community again.

Marilyn Canavan of Waterville is a former Democratic state representative and a former director of the Maine State Ethics Commission.

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