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One Democratic Mayor for Another
By: Emmett S. Beliveau
With the recent events in our nation's capital it is worth taking note of a local incident in which the Chief Executive was in fact removed from office.
On February 9, 1999, Waterville voters headed to the polls for the third election in only four months. The first, in November, was the regular election for municipal, state and federal offices. On that day, more than 1,600 of about 10,000 registered voters signified growing dissatisfaction with Waterville Mayor Ruth Joseph by signing a petition to force a recall election. With more than enough signatures in hand, the City Clerk determined that voters would soon return to the familiar school gymnasiums and Senior Centers to decide a straightforward question: "Should Mayor Ruth Joseph be recalled?" On December 15, voters made city history and booted the two-term Democrat from office by a 2-1 margin.
The recall vote followed two weeks of intense campaigning. The city was bitterly divided over whether Joseph should finish her term in office. At the outset of the conflict, the City Council and local newspaper called on Joseph to resign. She refused and instead launched a major effort to save her job. No one issue dominated the campaign, but attention generally focused on a growing personality conflict between the City Council and Joseph. The City Council had long complained of what they believed to be questionable management practices by the Mayor. Joseph responded that she had done nothing wrong and that the City Council was simply uncomfortable with a strong-willed Mayor.
The short, two week campaign window forced quick action by both sides. Two Political Action Committees were formed to shape the debate and influence public opinion. The names of the two PACs hinted at the intent and message of each side. "Waterville Citizens for Honest Government" and "Citizens Against the Recall" each raised money and made expenditures during the two-week campaign. Opponents of the recall contacted and persuaded about a dozen Colby students to help their campaign. However, despite those earning some extra Christmas money by working the telephones, the campus remained very much removed from the issue. Campus voters were not seriously targeted by either campaign, and turnout in Waterville's Ward 3, which includes Colby, was light.
Parallels with the events in Washington end with the coincidence of timing. Unlike President Clinton, the Waterville City Council never accused Joseph of criminal wrongdoing. Unfortunately, for the Mayor, and again unlike the President, she did not enjoy the popular support of the Waterville electorate. This past week the city continued a strong Democratic tradition by electing Waterville Board of Education Chair Nelson Madore to fill the office left vacant by Joseph's ouster.
The author served as a paid consultant to "Citizens Against the Recall"