State & Local Election coverage
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Two candidates, Martin Grohman and Susan Deschambault, are competing to replace outgoing Mayor Alan Casavant, who is not seeking reelection after 6 consecutive terms.
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Portland voters opposed Question A, a proposal to ease rent control limits on landlords, 67% to 33%.
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Local ballot questions and municipal government races are on the ballot for Mainers across the state.
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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.
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There's also one contested race for the town planning board on the June 13 ballot.
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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.
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The special election will be held on March 7.
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Brunswick will hold a special election on Feb. 28 to fill the District 5 seat formerly held by Chris Watkinson on the Town Council.
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Maine House 53 covers Kennebec County towns Chelsea, Pittston and Randolph; and in Lincoln County, Dresden.
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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.
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The elections will fill the District 5 and two at-large seats now open on the school board.
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Portland would be the first municipality in the state to have a clean elections program. A public meeting is set for Tuesday.
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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.
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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.
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Proposals such as universal basic income and participatory budgeting, where neighborhoods make some of their own spending decisions, could gain traction.
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The legal fight has been going on since the city blocked a ballot question in 2019.
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Brandon Mazer conceded the race after a recount.
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The process was to continue Wednesday morning, with 37 ballots still disputed.
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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.
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Roberto Rodriguez, the losing candidate, immediately said he would ask for a vote recount.
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The town completed the process and voted to leave, but did not have enough votes to validate it.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Biddeford has undergone a transformation since bringing down its trash incinerator. But the city's popularity is pricing people out.
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Political newcomers Louis "Roo" Dunn and Tim Pratt are vying for one open seat, while Mary Ellen Bell is running uncontested for another.
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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.
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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.
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Joseph Bruno, Dana Desjardins and Abigail Geer are running for a three-year term on the Raymond select board.
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Officials' interpretation of the minimum wage ordinance approved by 62% of voters last week runs contrary to organizers' intent, their attorney says.
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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.
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The confusion about whether it takes effect next month or in January 2022 stems from the wording of the ordinance.