The legislative branch of Portland, Maine, is a city council. It is a nine seat council, composed of representatives from the city's five districts, three councilors elected citywide and the full-time elected Mayor of Portland. The eight councilors are elected for three-year terms, while the Mayor is elected for a four-year term.
The council is officially non-partisan, though councilors are often known for their political party affiliation.
In 1923, the city transitioned from a Mayor–council government to a Council–manager government. This was in alignment with national trends in metropolitan governments, and also partially motivated by the influence of the Maine Ku Klux Klan, which resented what was perceived as the growing power of ethnic and religious minorities.[1] In 2011 the city charter was changed to allow an election for mayor again in 2011. Subsequent elections were held in 2015, 2019 and 2023.
In 2020, voters approved a proposal to switch elections for City Council and school board to ranked-choice elections.
In 2022, voters approved a proposal to switch elections for City Council to Proportional Ranked Choice Voting.
The Portland City Council meets at Portland City Hall, an historic 1909 building on Congress Street.
Current Councilors
editCurrent Council
edit- Mayor: Mark Dion elected in the 2023 election (since 2023)
- District 1: Anna Trevorrow (since 2021)
- District 2: Victoria Pelletier (since 2021)
- District 3: Regina Phillips (since 2022)
- District 4: Anna Bullett (since 2023)
- District 5: Kate Sykes (since 2023)
- At-Large: Pious Ali, (since 2016)
- At-Large: April Fournier (since 2020)
- At-Large: Roberto Rodríguez (since 2021)
Mayor: Mark Dion
editMark Dion is an American politician, law enforcement officer, and lawyer. A former detective in the Portland Police Department, he was the elected sheriff of Cumberland County from 1998–2010. He served in the Maine House of Representatives from 2010–2016. While in the legislature, Dion advocated for marijuana legalization.[2] Dion ran for Governor of Maine in 2018, placing fifth in the Democratic Party primary.[3] In 2020, he was elected to the Portland City Council from the fifth district with 39% of the vote in a four-way race. In 2023, he announced that he would run for mayor later that year, and was elected over District 4 councilor Andrew Zarro, at-large councilor Pious Ali, and three other candidates.
District 1: Anna Trevorrow
editAnna Trevorrow, a member of the Maine Green Independent Party,[4] is a former member of the Portland Board of Education from 2013 to 2021, and was elected to her first term on the city council in 2021.[5]
District 2: Victoria Pelletier
editA native of Brunswick, Pelletier is a racial equity and economic development coordinator at the Greater Portland Council of Governments.[6] She was elected to her first term in 2021 by eighteen points.[7]
District 3: Regina Phillips
editRegina Phillips is an adjunct professor of social work at the University of Southern Maine. She is the daughter of Gerald Talbot, who was the first African American elected to the Maine House of Representatives. Her sister, Rachel Talbot Ross, is a member of the Maine House of Representatives and is the current Speaker of the House. Phillips was elected to her first term in 2022.[8]
District 4: Anna Bullett
editAnna Bullett is the director of health and nutrition programs at The Opportunity Alliance, which works with low-income people in Cumberland County. A native of Auburn, she was elected to her first term in 2023.[9][10]
District 5: Kate Sykes
editKathryn "Kate" Sykes is the former co-chair of the Maine branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, and remains a member of the organization.[11] She was a candidate for this seat in 2020, finishing as runner up to future Mayor Mark Dion. She was elected to the council in 2023 by a 57–43 margin.[10] She is a writer by profession.
At-Large: Pious Ali
editElected to the council in 2016 after serving one term (3 years) on the City's Board of Public Education 2013–2016. He won his race by 62% in a three-way race to replace the incumbent Jon Hinck. He was re-elected in 2019, and 2022 re-elected a third time in 2022.[8] He finished third in Portland's 2023 Mayoral election. Ali worked at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service. He is the founder and current Executive Director of http://portlandempowered.org. He is an alumnus of the Institute for Civic Leadership (now known as Lift360), and in 2015, was named Lift360’s Most Distinguished Alumnus. A native of Ghana, ( First Ghanaian to be elected into any public office in the US ) Ali immigrated to the United States in 2000, and has lived in Portland since 2002.
At-Large: April Fournier
editElected to the council in 2020, April Fournier is Diné and a native of New Mexico who previously worked for Unum. She is the National Program Director of Advance Native Political Leadership,[12] and is the first Indigenous person elected to the Portland City Council.[13] She was re-elected in 2023.[10]
At-Large: Roberto Rodríguez
editRoberto Rodríguez is a native of Puerto Rico who previously served on the City's Board of Public Education and owns a garden supply company. He was elected in 2022 by 35 votes after a recount, with election night returns initially showing an exactly tied race.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Peck, Abraham. "Maine Voices: Why Portland doesn't have an elected mayor". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ^ Writer, Gillian GrahamStaff (31 March 2015). "Former sheriff plans push to legalize marijuana in Maine". Press Herald.
- ^ Cousins, Christopher (October 12, 2017). "Former Maine sheriff enters race for governor as a Democrat". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^ Viles, Chance (2021-10-05). "District 1 Portland council hopefuls propose solutions to housing crunch". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ Hoey, Dennis (2021-11-03). "Close Portland City Council race headed to Wednesday morning runoff". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ "These progressive local candidates say they are living Maine's affordable housing crisis - Maine Beacon". 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ "New progressive majority in Portland puts major reforms on the table - Maine Beacon". 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ a b Cohen, Lana (2022-11-10). "Incumbent Pious Ali wins City Council at-large race, newcomers take District 3 City Council and school board seats". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ Benninghoff, Grace (2023-10-18). "Two political newcomers vie for District 4 Portland City Council seat". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ a b c Bouchard, Kelley; Benninghoff, Grace (2023-11-08). "Fournier, Bullett and Sykes win Portland City Council races". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ Benninghoff, Grace (2023-10-19). "Candidates for Portland City Council District 5 seat look to housing as top issue". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ "April Fournier". Advance Native Political Leadership. 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ "Meet April". April Fournier for Portland City Council At Large. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ Schroeder, Nick (2021-11-10). "Roberto Rodriguez officially wins Portland's at-large City Council race". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2023-12-05.