We get it. Portland is an expensive place to live – renting or owning. That was true when we moved here 35 years ago, and 20 years ago when we scraped together a down payment for our house. We hold five jobs between the two of us and have two units that we rent: one as a long-term rental, and another created by carving out a third apartment on our property specifically to rent as an STR. (We did not throw anyone out to create it.) It helps us to pay higher taxes, higher maintenance and higher energy costs.
It is sad that the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America chooses to not consider the full consequences of its proposals, including Question B. Portland has unmet demand for 8,000 rental units. We won’t fulfill that need by vilifying a small number of local property owners, like us, just trying to support our families.
Kathryn Buxton Ackermann
Portland
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