The legislative branch of

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, is a

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. 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 The mayor–council government system is a system of local government that has a mayor who is directly elected by the voters serve as chief executive, and a separately elected legislative city council. It is one of the two most common forms of ...

to a

Council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government used for municipalities, counties, or other equivalent regions. It is one of the two most common forms of local government in the United States along with the mayor–council gover ...

. 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. In 2011 the city charter was changed to allow an election for mayor again in 2011. Subsequent elections were held in 2015 and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. 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

# Mayor:

Kate Snyder Katherine Merchant Snyder (born 1970) is an American politician serving as Mayor of Portland, Maine since 2019. Prior to her election as mayor, she served as executive director of the Portland Education Foundation, a non-profit which raised funds ...

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, elected in the 2019 election (since 2019) # District 1: Belinda Ray, Democrat (since 2015) # District 2: Spencer Thibodeau, Democrat (since 2015) # District 3: Tae Chong, Democrat (since 2019) # District 4: Andrew Zarro, Democrat (since 2020) # District 5:

Mark Dion Mark Dion (born August 28, 1961) is an American conceptual artist best known for his use of scientific presentations in his installations. His work examines the manner in which prevalent ideologies and institutions influence our understanding ...

, Democrat (since 2020) # At-Large: Pious Ali, Democrat (since 2016) # At-Large: April Fournier, Democrat (since 2020) # At-Large: Nicholas Mavodones, Democrat (since 1997)

Mayor (at-large): 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".

District 1: Belinda Ray

Belinda Ray was elected in 2015 to represent District 1 following the retirement of Kevin Donoghue. Ray is a resident of Portland's East Bayside neighborhood, having lived there since 2004. She helped found the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization (EBNO), and served sequentially as Vice President, President, and Community Organizer of EBNO. Ray was elected to succeed Donoghue as the District 1 councilor in a five-way race in which she garnered 39% of the vote.

District 2: Spencer Thibodeau

Spencer Thibodeau (born March 18, 1988) is a real estate attorney and native of Cincinnati, Ohio, who was elected in 2015 to represent District 2 following the retirement of David Marshall.

District 3: Tae Chong

Tae Chong Is a business counselor and former liaison for the Portland Police Department. He was elected to represent District 3 in 2019 beating four others including former councilor Edward Suslovic.

District 4: Andrew Zarro

District 5: Mark Dion

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.

At-Large: April Fournier

At-Large: Nick Mavodones

References

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External links

Portland City Council
Government of Portland, Maine City councils in the United States