Portland City Council (Maine)

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.

City Hall in September 2011

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 and 2019.

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 Rank Choice Voting.

The Portland City Council meets at Portland City Hall, an historic 1909 building on Congress Street.

Current Councilors

Current Council
  1. Mayor: Kate Snyder elected in the 2019 election (since 2019)
  2. District 1: Anna Trevorrow (since 2021)
  3. District 2: Victoria Pelletier (since 2021)
  4. District 3: Regina Phillips (since 2022)
  5. District 4: Andrew Zarro (since 2020)
  6. District 5: Mark Dion (since 2020)
  7. At-Large: Pious Ali, (since 2016)
  8. At-Large: April Fournier (since 2020)
  9. At-Large: Roberto Rodriguez (since 2021)

Mayor: Kate Snyder
Main article: Kate Snyder

Kate Snyder is a non-profit executive who beat incumbent mayor Ethan Strimling as well as city councilor Spencer Thibodeau in the 2019 Portland, Maine mayoral election. Days after the election Snyder told the press “We know the issues and we’ll continue to work on them".[2]

District 4: Andrew Zarro

Andrew Zarro was first elected to the city council in 2020.[3] At the time of election, he owned Little Woodfords, a small coffee shop.[4] He made national news by selling stickers that read “defund god” and “Abort Republicans”.[5][6] In 2022, Maine Magazine named him one of their "Mainers of the Year" for his work to setup small vaccine clinics in the city.[7]

Before his time in office he worked at Grow Smart Maine advocating for an urban density and growth.[8] In May 2023, Zarro announced his run for Portland mayor.[9] Zarro is the son of Francis Zarro who is a disbarred lawyer convicted for felony real estate fraud.[10]

District 5: Mark Dion
Main article: Mark Dion (politician)

Mark N. Dion (born 1955) is an American politician, law enforcement officer, and lawyer. 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.[11] Dion ran for Governor of Maine in 2018, placing fifth in the Democratic Party primary.[12] In 2020, he was elected to the Portland City Council with 39% of the vote in a four-way race. In 2023, he announced that he would run for mayor later that year.

At-Large: Pious Ali

Elected 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. Ali works at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service 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, Ali immigrated to the United States in 2000. and has lived in Portland since 2008.

See also

References
  1. Peck, Abraham. "Maine Voices: Why Portland doesn't have an elected mayor". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  2. "Mayor-elect Kate Snyder is ready to roll | the Portland Phoenix".
  3. https://www.pressherald.com/2020/11/03/zarro-elected-to-portland-city-council-russell-bedder-elected-to-school-board/
  4. https://portlandphoenix.me/little-woodfords-coffee-shop-to-close-along-with-other-small-and-local-businesses/
  5. https://www2.cbn.com/news/politics/dem-owned-coffee-shop-sold-defund-god-abort-republicans-merch
  6. https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/money/business/little-woodfords-coffee-shop-in-portland-announces-closure-small-business/97-22b56149-f0b0-4db3-bb9d-1bc953908d4e
  7. https://www.themainemag.com/mainers-of-the-year-2022/#andrew-zarro
  8. https://growsmartmaine.org/blog/growsmart-maine-announces-staffing-changes/
  9. https://www.pressherald.com/2023/05/09/portland-city-councilor-andrew-zarro-announces-run-for-mayor/
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhuFRojwEj0
  11. Writer, Gillian GrahamStaff (31 March 2015). "Former sheriff plans push to legalize marijuana in Maine". Press Herald.
  12. Cousins, Christopher (October 12, 2017). "Former Maine sheriff enters race for governor as a Democrat". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
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