Louis “Papa” Lausier was elected to fifteen successive terms as mayor of Biddeford from 1941 to 1955, his final term coinciding with Biddeford’s celebrated centennial. Born on November 17, 1879 to Antoine and Aurilie (Cartier) Lausier and raised in Biddeford, he graduated from Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in Quebec and returned to Biddeford to study law with Judge George F. Haley.
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Pepperell Trust Company, Main Street, Biddeford, 1955
After passing the bar in 1906, he soon went into municipal government, holding a variety of offices including city auditor, municipal judge and alderman. He also served as a state representative before being elected mayor and was president of the Pepperell Trust Company.
Lausier was a fiscally conservative Democrat and took great pride in maintaining Biddeford as a debt-free city. He was a controversial figure, particularly among champions of social services and non-Franco ethnic groups in the city.
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Mayor Louis B. Lausier at a union dinner, Biddeford, 1950
Much of the notoriety surrounding his administration was due to the ethnic discord that existed in the city during these years. This included ugly displays of anti-Franco sentiment and as mayor, many felt that Lausier was right to champion Franco issues. However, others believed that this, coupled with his determination to balance the books, resulted in disregard for other ethnic groups and the poor.
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St. Joseph's School students and teachers, Biddeford, 1910
For example, it was charged that Lausier was unconcerned about the public schools since most Francos sent their kids to parochial schools. By the time he sought re-election to his 16th term as mayor, this ongoing strife finally had taken its toll; he was defeated (though only by 29 votes) in the primary by Albert C. Lambert.
While his obituary noted that Lausier’s “personality and conduct of his office won him many friends and enemies,” John H. Reed, Maine’s governor at the time of his death, memorialized him thus: “Mayor Lausier will be remembered for steadfast devotion to his party ideals and the interest which he always maintained in furthering the progress of his city and state.”
Lausier died on January 14, 1962 at the age of 82.
