Two candidates, Martin Grohman and Susan Deschambault, are competing to replace outgoing Mayor Alan Casavant, who is not seeking reelection after 6 consecutive terms.

Portland voters opposed Question A, a proposal to ease rent control limits on landlords, 67% to 33%.

Local ballot questions and municipal government races are on the ballot for Mainers across the state.

Voters on June 13 will decide if the town should place further limits on the size of recreational marijuana stores that some say are designed to benefit only one man.

There's also one contested race for the town planning board on the June 13 ballot.

The Brunswick Town Council attempted to switch polling sites from the junior high school to the recreation center to avoid a conflict with the school day.

The special election will be held on March 7.

Brunswick will hold a special election on Feb. 28 to fill the District 5 seat formerly held by Chris Watkinson on the Town Council.

Maine House 53 covers Kennebec County towns Chelsea, Pittston and Randolph; and in Lincoln County, Dresden.

A proposal before the charter commission would allow all residents of legal voting age the right to participate in local races, but questions remain about the legality and impact on a vulnerable population.

The elections will fill the District 5 and two at-large seats now open on the school board.

Portland would be the first municipality in the state to have a clean elections program. A public meeting is set for Tuesday.

A special election could be held as early as April to fill the three vacancies or the city could wait until the next regularly scheduled election in June.

A city review found a 45-vote discrepancy between ballots counted on Election Day and during a hand recount, but the outcome of the election remains unchanged.

Proposals such as universal basic income and participatory budgeting, where neighborhoods make some of their own spending decisions, could gain traction.

The legal fight has been going on since the city blocked a ballot question in 2019.

Brandon Mazer conceded the race after a recount.

The process was to continue Wednesday morning, with 37 ballots still disputed.

Opponents of a new 208-bed shelter say they will no longer try to stop it and will instead focus their efforts on housing, rather than sheltering, the homeless.

Roberto Rodriguez, the losing candidate, immediately said he would ask for a vote recount.

The town completed the process and voted to leave, but did not have enough votes to validate it.

But the vote to free the town from enforcing a ban on tearing it down does not necessarily mean the owners will be allowed to do so to rebuild it.

The unofficial result means the city likely will be able to move forward with its plan to build a 208-bed homeless services center without a legal battle.

City officials said Sarah Thompson can't formally withdraw from the race because the city charter requires candidates to sign a pledge to stay in the race.

A commercial real estate agent and a local developer have formed a ballot question committee to support Option C, which would allow the city's 208-bed homeless services center in Riverton to move forward.

Mayor Misha Pride is challenged by longtime school board Chairman Richard Matthews in District 3, and former councilor Linda Cohen faces human rights leader Margaret Brownlee in District 4.

Biddeford has undergone a transformation since bringing down its trash incinerator. But the city's popularity is pricing people out.

Political newcomers Louis "Roo" Dunn and Tim Pratt are vying for one open seat, while Mary Ellen Bell is running uncontested for another.

The tension that has been building in recent years between an energized, aggressive progressive movement and more moderate city officials seems to have spiked in the last week.

A political newcomer is taking on a longtime Portland resident and former elected official for a seat on the Portland City Council representing the West End and Parkside.

Joseph Bruno, Dana Desjardins and Abigail Geer are running for a three-year term on the Raymond select board.

Officials' interpretation of the minimum wage ordinance approved by 62% of voters last week runs contrary to organizers' intent, their attorney says.

Question E on Portland's municipal ballot, which would prohibit non owner-occupied short-term rentals, lost by only 222 votes, making it the only referendum defeated by voters on Nov. 3.

The confusion about whether it takes effect next month or in January 2022 stems from the wording of the ordinance.