By his own words, written in an expletive-riddled, soul-revealing email to his boss, Westbrook’s biggest business booster has ruined his credibility and done serious damage to the Westbrook business community. And for that, Bill Baker should resign immediately so the community can move on with someone at the helm of economic development that has the full faith and trust of the people he’s charged to help.

Secondly, and almost as disturbingly, Mayor Colleen Hilton, who received Baker’s disturbing email long before a Freedom of Access request made it public earlier this week, never disciplined her employee. What made Baker feel so comfortable sharing such thoughts with his boss? Did he presume she’d agree with his sentiments about all the residents, children and businesspeople he denigrated in his email? Baker clearly must have felt comfortable enough speaking in such terms, with such foul language and ego, to hit the send button to his boss and not fear any repercussions.

To recap, Baker received a request from Michael Shaughnessy, chairman of the art department at the University of Southern Maine, who was wondering if the city would be interested in allowing him to install sculptures along the Presumpscot Riverwalk. Baker drafted a mock response to Shaughnessy and sent it to the mayor to show her what he really thought about the project. He then wrote to Shaughnessy saying he thought it was a great idea. However, you can’t write the denigrating things he wrote – even if it was satire, as Baker now claims – and then be able to look those you mocked in the eye. Baker’s real thoughts on the business and cultural happenings in Westbrook have been laid bare for all to see, and that’s a problem for him. And, so far at least, it’s a problem neither he nor the mayor seem to recognize.

Before this week, Baker had been one of Westbrook’s shining lights. He served as a respected police chief in Westbrook, helping to get that department in order after several flagging years. Hilton tapped him to lead economic development in 2012. In that role, Baker helped several businesses move to Westbrook and attracted quality events like Tough Mudder and Bike Maine. Now all that good work is erased and he’s the second person in the past few weeks to sully the city’s reputation. City Councilor Paul Emery should be thankful Baker has taken some attention off him.

Baker’s vitriolic email and Emery’s comments about Gov. LePage have common threads, since they both exposed what each official really believes and were done in what each thought were private settings – Emery in a meeting of fellow Democrats and Baker in an email on the city email system to Hilton. Both actions were plainly stupid, and Baker should have known his emailed comments are available to public review due to Maine’s Freedom of Access law. Thanks to a reporter being present at the Democrats’ meeting and a watchdog citizen in Westbrook regularly requesting official emails, residents now know more about how their leaders really think. The shocking thing is how two-faced they dared to be. Emery grabbed a reporter’s recording device in hopes of covering up his words and Baker wrote an email – one that he actually sent – to Shaughnessy saying how fantastic he thought the idea of public art along the Riverwalk could be. Anyone reading that email and then comparing it to Baker’s rant to the mayor would be shocked at how easily Baker could switch gears and pretend to care and cover his true feelings so effortlessly.

And that’s why Baker will have a difficult time being trusted by the business community – the same people who help pay his nearly $150,000 salary and benefits package and for whom he’s supposed to work. Not only the business community, Baker has also shocked and denigrated all of Westbrook. He’s betrayed the city’s trust in that we expect our leaders, elected or not, to cheerlead and be supportive of the community – in private and public – and do all they can to work with all residents and leaders in a cooperative way. By mocking many of the city’s residents, Baker’s revealed himself as a fraud.

And in his attempt at an apology, Baker once again blamed and further berated members of the business community and showed no ability to see the real error of his ways. While it would be better for all if Baker held himself accountable and willingly resigned, the mayor should let him go if he doesn’t. When someone makes a fool of himself and then is too blind to see his own error, it’s time for that person to leave.

–John Balentine, managing editor