The race to become Portland’s next mayor is on, with three challengers and Mayor Michael Brennan filing nomination petitions before Tuesday’s 4:30 p.m. deadline.

Eleven candidates have filed to run for three seats on the City Council, according to the City Clerk’s Office. And five more are running for three seats on the city’s school board.

A few candidates filed too late in the day to have their petition signatures reviewed Tuesday, but they are expected to have their candidacies certified when the clerk’s office reopens Wednesday.

Here is how the Nov. 3 city elections are shaping up:

Brennan, who in 2011 became Portland’s first popularly elected mayor in 88 years, is running for a second four-year term. Four years ago, he defeated 14 other candidates, two of whom are in the race again this year.

Running to unseat Brennan are: Ethan Strimling, a former state senator who came in second in 2011; Thomas MacMillan, chairman of the Portland Green Independent Committee; and Chris Vail, a firefighter who got about 2 percent of the vote in 2011.

Vail’s nomination petitions have yet to be certified.

At-large City Councilor Nicholas Mavodones Jr. is running for re-election against two challengers: Matthew Coffey and David Foster. Foster’s petitions have yet to be certified.

On Aug. 19, four city councilors and seven school board members held a news conference in front of City Hall to announce their support for Strimling’s candidacy.

“Our council is divided, our school board is divided, our community is divided,” Mavodones said at the event.

On Tuesday, the Portland Longshoremen’s Benevolent Association, ILA Local 861, issued a statement expressing its support for Brennan, citing his leadership in fostering the redevelopment that has revitalized Portland’s working waterfront.

“Mayor Brennan demonstrated the necessary leadership to bring people together to support Portland’s working waterfront,” Mike Fox, president of Local 861, said in an emailed statement. “He stood with us to support good-paying jobs on our waterfront, and we are proud to stand with him and support him for re-election.”

MacMillan is chairman of the Portland Green Independent Committee. He is expecting to be endorsed by the Greens when they meet next month. Last year, MacMillan said he worked as an educational technician in the South Portland school system.

“I’m going to be focused on the issues and being positive,” MacMillan said Tuesday evening. “I want to point out what’s wrong with society, not what’s wrong with the other candidates.”

Vail, who has been a Portland firefighter for 15 years, was waiting to hear if he had enough valid signatures to have his name placed on the Nov. 3 ballot. He turned in his nomination papers Tuesday, but was told by the City Clerk’s Office that it would need at least another day to certify his papers.

Vail, who hasn’t received any endorsements yet, said he can offer voters a choice in that “I’m the alternative to the classic politician. I’m not a polished politician and I don’t have any hidden agendas.”

Two open seats representing the two ends of the Portland peninsula on the City Council attracted a total of eight candidates. District 1 Councilor Kevin Donoghue, who represents the East End and islands, and District 2 Councilor David Marshall, who represents the West End, have decided against seeking re-election.

Running in District 1 are Brandon Mazer, Sean Kerwin, Patrick Flynn, Belinda Ray and Paula Guillemette Agopian, who has not yet been certified.

Running in District 2 are Spencer Thibodeau, Robert Korobkin and Wellington Lyons.

Mavodones, who at one point considered a second mayoral run, will face competition.

Coffey is an activist for the city’s poor and homeless who created Hobo News, a newspaper produced by members of the city’s homeless community. Coffey is homeless and has been camping in Portland for three years. He has been working as a landscaper to save money to buy his own land, he told the Portland Press Herald in July.

Foster is media marketing manager for the Great Lost Bear and a newcomer to city politics.

Meanwhile, three school board members are running for re-election.

Chairwoman Sarah Thompson is running for re-election to her at-large seat. First elected in 2006, Thompson is the longest-serving member of the board. A native Portlander and graduate of Portland High School, she went to schools in Portland from kindergarten through college.

Paul Okot filed to run against Thompson, although he was not certified Tuesday. Okot is the founder of the International Resource Center of Portland, which provides translation, interpretation and transcription services. Okot, who is from South Sudan and grew up in Portland, received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in Chinese, from Bates College.

Jenna Vendil is running for re-election in District 1 against Josephine Okot.

Holly Seeliger is running unopposed to keep her District 2 seat.

Staff Writer Noel Gallagher contributed to this report.

 

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