Let’s make a few things perfectly clear. First, the Waterville mayor’s use of the phrase “dark forces” is right out of the Trump playbook. It’s a cut-through crude comment, a vaguely racist reference designed to scare people and polarize issues. Donald Trump likes to use the phrase to vilify immigrants.

Second, the mayoral recall effort is not just about one unconscionable tweet; it’s about a pattern of truly offensive public online behavior unbefitting the person representing our city. Isgro’s recent accusations of closed-door council meetings and huge tax increases are simply a smokescreen.

As Mark Thompson — author of “Enough Said: What’s Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics?” — writes, “Open your ears. Think. Speak. Laugh. Cut through the noise.”

Voting is now open, and we have a chance to return city governance to something more civil and productive.

Lyn Mikel Brown

Waterville