Democracy Project
During this election year, the BDN’s politics team is focusing on how political polarization, cynicism and apathy is changing civic life in Maine. Read our full explanation of the series, see all the stories and share ideas by filling out this form.
HALLOWELL, Maine — The man identified himself as “Tom.”
He called Hallowell Mayor George Lapointe in late May, saying he was expressing how a “group of us” — business owners, restaurant workers and local officials — felt the city had “gone a little bit too far” with LGBTQ+ imagery.
“Tom” mentioned a rainbow crosswalk that has been on Water Street since 2021, wondering if Hallowell could also add an “American flag sidewalk.” He alluded to flags long flown downtown in an alternating pattern with U.S. flags to mark Pride Month in June and suggested flying American flags on one entire side of the street.
“Anything just as a way to show like, hey, we’re still an American-first town, and we support everyone,” he told the mayor. “We support the LGBTQ community, and we also support Americans.”
He went on to say others in the group did not want to air concerns publicly over fears of losing business and being “smeared” by the Hallowell Pride Alliance. Lapointe replied that he felt similar concerns when running for a second term in 2023, candidly describing the alliance’s mentality: “If you’re not for everything we believe in, you’re not with us.”
“Obviously, the town of Hallowell prides itself in its diversity, and we want to continue that, because that is a selling card,” Lapointe said. “[But] one of the things I noticed last year, and I’m not going say this publicly, but the pride alliance kind of went from advocacy to militancy.”
The mayor did not know that the call was recorded and would later be published online. The caller was not “Tom” but Richard Coffron, who lives in Hallowell. His right-wing “unquirer” profile on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, rails against Democrats while posting recordings of similar calls to other Maine officials.
Lapointe’s words belied the political attitude in Hallowell, perhaps the most liberal place in Maine outside of Portland. The city of 2,500 just south of Augusta has been known as one of the state’s LGBTQ+ centers going back decades, when discrimination was rampant and laws did not protect those in that community.
Though numerous residents defended the Hallowell mayor and did not feel his words defined Hallowell, the online provocateur succeeded in roiling the progressive city. In doing so, he showed how these kinds of deceptive tactics can be deployed to flame more subtle policy disagreements in small communities.
“We’re a small enough place that we have to have room for people to make mistakes, learn from their mistakes and commit to doing better,” resident Karen Wyman said in an interview.
Word of the recording spread quickly. It was posted on June 2. Eight days later, residents packed a Hallowell City Hall meeting room to share their anger and frustration with Lapointe. He apologized to the pride alliance, council and city staff, saying his comments were “inappropriate and have caused anger and fear.”
More than a dozen residents spoke for nearly an hour. Several defended Lapointe while still taking him to task. One wondered “whether you will ever stick your neck out to stand up for somebody who doesn’t share your privilege.” A bar owner, Bruce Mayo, recalled how Hallowell was not always as welcoming, sharing how he was choked downtown in the 1990s.
“There are people who don’t want them to exist,” one man said of LGBTQ+ residents while defending the pride alliance.
Coffron, who online records indicate is in his 40s, did not respond to emailed requests for comment, a message sent to a website linked to his X account and a note left outside his apartment building near the downtown. He is registered in the city as an unenrolled voter.
Hallowell is a city of state workers and others who are close to State House politics. Though Democrats are typically the ones who rise to local offices here, there have long been rivalries and cliques among them. That has produced some close elections.
Lapointe, 67, served two governors as marine resources commissioner from 1998 to 2011. The former city councilor was elected mayor in 2020 by just three votes over Maureen AuCoin, who was once the code enforcement officer and now holds an at-large council seat.
In an interview, Lapointe said he did not know Coffron before the call and he always tries to return calls from residents. He said he regrets the “militancy” comment.
“There are cases in which their advocacy is hard to work with,” he said. “But, again, I overstated that.”
The mayor did not elaborate. But last year, the City Council reprimanded City Manager Gary Lamb for his response to the alliance’s complaint about the fire department not providing traffic and safety coverage for an annual Pride parade. Volunteer firefighters have a “right to not participate and not work on the weekend,” Lamb wrote in an email to the alliance.
“Different citizens have different opinions on how they approach LGBTQ issues as you know well,” he wrote then.
Regarding Lapointe’s “hard to work with” comment, the Hallowell Pride Alliance has asked Lapointe and city officials to “examine inequities across policies and discriminatory actions by employees” over the past few years, board member Hannah Barry said.
“While this work can be hard, we are hopeful that the mayor will recognize the importance of follow through and prioritize continued conversations in spite of the discomfort it may bring,” Barry said, also asking Lapointe for a “firmer dedication to the platform he purports to stand on.”
Lamb declined to comment for this story, but he emailed Lapointe and council members in early June to describe a meeting he had a day earlier with Coffron and Coffron’s wife.
In the email, Lamb said Coffron described himself as an “independent journalist” who feels the pride alliance’s influence in council discussions and access to flying flags on city property is “excessive.” Coffron told Lamb he targeted Lapointe because he was upset over how the council responded to last year’s situation involving the fire department.
Lamb said he told Coffron that if he wanted input on city’s flag rules, then he “needs to stop conducting any other ‘ruses’ in Hallowell and treat this as a serious policy issue.”
On June 26, Coffron sent Lamb a proposed resolution that asks the council to create a policy for flag display requests to ensure “representation and inclusivity.” But councilors noted in follow-up emails Hallowell passed a policy in 2021 that lays out rules and requires the council to approve any installations, including flags, on public property.
Both the mayor and city manager have faced criticism for their interactions with Coffron. AuCoin, the councilor whose wife, Alex, is president of the Hallowell Pride Alliance, said Lamb inflamed the situation by meeting with Coffron.
“The engagement by the mayor and city manager have given Mr. Coffron and his hateful followers a foothold that has caused safety concerns and fears for me, my wife and my LGBTQ+ friends and community members,” AuCoin said.
The council has not yet scheduled a vote on Coffron’s resolution. Lapointe also said he intends to hold a public forum entirely devoted to his remarks. Although his conversation with Coffron brought turmoil to the idyllic city, Lapointe took a positive view of the resulting discussions.
“It reinforced what a good community we live in, and it reinforced that I need to tune up my skills as an ally and do better on [diversity, equity and inclusion] issues,” the mayor said.
