Inmate 4780, for school board

We apologize for the infrequent posts. It’s election time, which means reporters everywhere are under the gun to interview candidates, and in some cases, check their criminal record.
The latter happened to a Brunswick school board candidate this week. As it turns out, 21-year old Matthew Lajoie has quite the criminal history, one that completely eclipses now disgraced Portland School Committee member Jason Toothaker. Toothaker was arrested earlier this year for ducking a cab fare and fleeing the Portland cops. He was later found hiding beneath a front porch and authoring school policy in the dirt (OK, we made up the part about authoring school policy).
Lajoie, on the other hand, got into serious trouble in 2006 when he crashed into a Topsham Rite Aid after leading police on a high-speed chase on I-295. He later spent four months in county jail.
The message here, kiddies, is this: Know the candidates running for local office and vote. These are the people shaping policy, deciding on budgets, and in some cases, raising your property taxes.
It’s doubtful Lajoie will get elected in November. Toothaker, however, did, even after a previous run-in with The Man.
Also, while we hate to keep piling on the Press Herald, it’s worth noting that they completely ignored Lajoie’s criminal history in their candidate profile this week. The profile ran two full days after the Times Record first reported Lajoie’s history, and one day after the Forecaster went to press with its account. The PPH has since taken down Lajoie’s profile, which means we can expect a blowout, you-read-it-here-first account sometime next week.

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