The race to become Portland’s next mayor has been whittled to three candidates, with a Portland firefighter falling four signatures short of qualifying for the Nov. 3 ballot.

Chris Vail submitted 328 signatures to the city clerk’s office, but the staff could verify that only 296 of those signatures came from registered Portland voters, Elections Assistant Melissa Caiazzo said. At least 300 valid signatures were required.

“Some of them weren’t registered voters, and some of them we couldn’t read,” Caiazzo said.

Mayor Michael Brennan is being challenged by Ethan Strimling and Tom MacMillian.

Strimling, a former state legislator who heads a Portland-based nonprofit, lost to Brennan in 2011 by 1,833 votes. This year, he has been endorsed by four of the nine city councilors and seven of the nine elected school board members.

MacMillian heads the Portland Green Independent Committee.

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Vail also was a candidate in the 2011 mayoral race, the city’s first in 88 years. He placed ninth in a 15-way race.

Randy Billings can be contacted at 791-6346 or at:

rbillings@pressherald.com

Twitter: @randybillings


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