At its August 4 meeting, the Gorham Town Council (TC) voted to table until September the proposal sponsored by Councilor Virginia Wilder Cross that called on the Council to resolve to “end oppression/misrepresentation of minority groups,” affirm and acknowledge that “Black Lives Matter,” and assure “that law enforcement honors equal justice for all in Gorham.”

The resolution had been drafted by students from Gorham High School and USM who worked in conjunction with other Gorham residents after a joint meeting with Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak and Police Chief Christopher Sanborn.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, several residents spoke in favor of the resolution while others expressed opposition.

“We have all these young kids who have been empowered by their teachers,” Ryanne Joslin said. “They’re saying can we take steps to agree that in this community Black Lives Matter, which also means people of color. What they are asking for is just to hear the adults in their community support them.”

Charles Pearson sent a complete rewrite of the resolution to the Council. Among other objections, Pearson wrote that by supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, the Council would “become a partisan political body” that had endorsed a radical far-left agenda.

Councilor Ben Hartwell expressed agreement with Pearson’s BLM objections, while other councilors were concerned about the language of the resolution. Councilor Lee Pratt said, “I don’t want to see this go away, but I don’t want to back a political party.” Councilor Ron Shepherd, former Gorham police chief, objected to “partnering” with the Gorham Police Department, saying that the Town Council’s role is leadership. Councilor Jim Hager moved to table the motion for the resolution to the September meeting. It passed (5-1, Kuech; Phillips absent).

Councilor Kuech, who voted against tabling the resolution, said that “a resolution is not a legal document, but it lets the youth and adults know that we support them.”

Wilder Cross said later that she was “working with the group to consider some of the changes that were suggested” at the TC meeting but added, “I know that none of us wants to ‘water down’ the importance of addressing systemic racism in Gorham.”

In agreeing to bring a revised version to the September meeting, Wilder Cross said she wanted only a one-month delay because, “We want to say that we have a problem in the town.”