In defense of Bill Baker

My name is Mary Weston, I’m a 64-year-old photographer and artist, who contacted Bill Baker a couple of years ago to ask his help in promoting my photographs of the Presumpscot River. I am grateful for the time Bill took to meet with me, review my portfolio and write emails of introduction to people in Westbrook who he thought might be supportive in getting my photos out to the public. With Bill’s support I have had a very successful show of photos at Walker Memorial Library and the Windham Public Library. I also contributed photos to the Westbrook website and the official travel site for Greater Portland. In appreciation of Bill’s help, I donated a print to the Westbrook mayor’s office.

I, too, would have been offended to see myself a target. I won’t deny that Bill may have lodged a rather “big foot” in his mouth with his inappropriate email, but who of us hasn’t had the same unfortunate experience in this day and age of electronic media: of being facetious in print, thinking it was a private vent, hitting Send, only to realize the catastrophic results. Something tells me Bill has whipped himself sufficiently for his wrongdoing, without need of further public castigation.

As I age, I appreciate more and more the value of not seeing people or issues in “black and white.” The state of the world is a good example of what results when we fail to take into account the many shades of gray our diversity presents. Is there anyone whose every opinion we would agree? Our measure of character comes in our ability to collaborate with those who hold opinions that are most diverse to our own.

I hope in Bill Baker’s case we can accept Mayor Hilton’s forgiving latitude, and see that Bill has worked hard many years for Westbrook in his capacity as a public servant. It was apparent in my conversations with Bill how dedicated he is to Westbrook. He was frustrated and vented in a way that was hurtful, he may have been experiencing personal health stressors, but that doesn’t sum up the totality of the man. Surely to lose his service to Westbrook going forward would be “cutting off the nose to spite the face.”

Just as it takes humility and courage to apologize to those he’s offended, it also takes humility and courage from all offended parties to accept his apology and move on for the good of the city. Let’s move forward, putting personal egos aside in favor of public good for the city of Westbrook and the Presumpscot River.

Mary T. Weston

Presumpscot River Studios

Windham