No form of government is perfect. There will always be clashes of personalities, ideas and ideals. But the people of Portland have a government that works and tries to balance the needs of a growing, diverse population in the state’s largest city.

A recent op-ed in the Press Herald challenged the wisdom and fairness of Portland’s government structure, which has an elected City Council, mayor and professional city manager. The writer also attacked the city’s business community.

The council-manager form of government has served the residents of the city well since 1923. Professional management has helped the city to grow and prosper while bringing innovation to the services the city provides.

As leaders of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, we were understandably stunned by the author’s characterization of our diverse membership as being against the interests of the city’s residents.

In his Sept. 24 Maine Voices op-ed, one-time mayoral candidate Tom MacMillan made the unsupported claim that the business community uses its influence to shut people out of the community and to hurt poor people.

That claim is just not true.

The membership of the Portland Regional Chamber is made up of more than 1,300 employers – organizations from the public, private and nonprofit sectors run by men and women, including people of color. As a matter of fact, 80 percent of our members are small businesses with 25 or fewer employees.

Our members create and sustain tens of thousands of jobs, pay millions in taxes and make voluntary contributions in the tens of millions of dollars to a wide array of civic and nonprofit causes.

While MacMillan suggests that children in Portland go hungry as a result of an imagined conspiratorial alliance between employers and city government, the fact is that the work of Preble Street Resource Center, Good Shepherd Food Bank and dozens of other food security organizations are fueled by voluntary employer contributions and many employee volunteer hours. The same spirit of voluntary support is evident across the entire spectrum of social services that support those most in need.

MacMillan’s thesis is that Portland needs a system “in which decisions are made by elected residents, not professionals with no ties to the community.”

His statement is badly misinformed. There is no policy decision made regarding Portland’s priorities that is not endorsed by a majority of the City Council, which is elected by Portland residents. Furthermore, the city manager serves at the pleasure of the council, not the other way around.

The Portland region’s national fame for quality of place is an outcome of intentional public policy decisions by elected officials, enabled by professional staff and complemented by optimistic investments by employers, their employees and the people who live in the community.

One need look no further than the hundreds of millions of dollars invested by MaineHealth in Maine Medical Center and their campuses throughout the region; the new international headquarters of Wex and Covetrus; the expansion of classroom space, programs and new dormitories on the University of Southern Maine campus, and the new construction of workforce housing.

All these employers are members and active participants in the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, as are hundreds of small, family-owned businesses.

This is not a city that is broken. In fact, it is a city and region increasingly challenged by opportunity. That is why the Portland Regional Chamber is collaborating with the Greater Portland Council of Governments, the United Way and many other employers to address the most pressing policy priorities in the quest for shared prosperity, including attracting new people, helping new Americans to find jobs, improving transit options, expanding affordable housing and tackling climate change.

These daunting challenges rely on professional planning and management, working hand in hand with elected leaders.

As stakeholders in the city’s future, Portland’s business community continues to be an ally to sustainable social change for the benefit of all.

« Previous

Maine Voices: Maine courts need a science and technology adviser

Next »

Reps. Fay and Ingwersen: For Maine to beat forever chemicals, we need federal and state solutions