Ethan Strimling, a former Maine legislator, longtime political commentator and leader of an educational nonprofit in Portland’s West End, is expected to announce his candidacy for mayor on Tuesday.

According to a brief news advisory Monday, Strimling will appear at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday outside the organization he leads, Learning Works, on Brackett Street.

Ethan Strimling's donations from developers are being criticized by his opponents, highlighting concern about the cost of living in Portland and a distrust of developers. 2015 Press Herald File Photo/Gordon Chibroski

If he enters the race, as has been widely expected, it will be Strimling’s second attempt at the city’s top office. He finished second with 22 percent of the vote in 2011 behind Michael F. Brennan’s 26 percent, losing by 1,833 votes.

The 2011 citywide mayoral race was the first in Portland in 88 years and featured a total of 15 candidates. Mayor Brennan announced in June he would seek a second term in November.

Although no one has so far returned signatures to get on the ballot, electioneering has already begun in some forms.

A Portland businessman whose communications company worked on Strimling’s 2011 campaign has conducted two polls, releasing partial results that showed it could be a close race between Strimling and Brennan and fueling speculation that Strimling would enter the race.

Neither Strimling nor Brennan returned calls for comment Monday. Strimling has been the co-author of a politics column in the Maine Sunday Telegram.

Since nomination papers became available June 30, eight people have requested the paperwork required to collect signatures to get onto the ballot. In addition to Brennan, the list of possible candidates contains a few other familiar names. Portland firefighter Christopher Vail, who was the first choice of about 2 percent of voters in 2011, has again pulled papers. Also on the list of possible candidates is longtime City Councilor Ed Suslovic; Portland activist Tom MacMillan; bar owner Ben Culver; Maine College of Art student Brendan Glass; Karl Nordli of Hillis Street; and Zouhair A. Bouzrara of Grant Street.

Absent from that list is at-large Councilor Nicholas Mavodones, who also had been considering a run against Brennan. Mavodones has instead taken out papers to seek re-election to his council seat.

Mavodones’ apparent decision to stay out of the mayor’s race and not challenge Brennan may indicate support on the City Council for Strimling.

Brennan has had a contentious relationship with some city councilors, as both sides continue to struggle to establish their newly defined roles outlined in the recently amended City Charter.

Councilors have asserted their right to place items on meeting agendas and have complained about a lack of communication. Some have openly questioned whether having an elected mayor creates confusion and additional work for city staff, especially the corporation counsel, city clerk and city manager, all of whom work closely with the mayor but report to the council as a whole.

While sharing oversight of city government with the council, Portland’s mayor serves full time and receives a $70,000 annual salary.

Unlike most elections in the United States, the winner of Portland’s mayoral race is determined through a ranked-choice process. Voters rank the candidates in order of preference, and if no candidate wins a clear majority, the candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated, and the candidate’s second-choice votes are distributed to the remaining candidates. This continues until one candidate emerges with a clear majority.

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