Civil and voting rights leader Vernon Dahmer once said, “If you don’t vote, you don’t count.” Judging by the recent results of the June 8 elections, 86 percent of the registered voters in Portland don’t count. Mr. Dahmer felt so strongly about the right to vote that he paid for it with his life after […]

Like many Portlanders, I was shocked by the comments of newly elected Charter Commissioner Nasreen Sheikh-Yousef. As the only Hispanic city councilor in recent memory, and the son of an English language learner, I’m offended that someone would so cheapen the struggles of those threatened by actual white supremacists, especially to attack a city manager […]

What a shame that one member of the newly elected Charter Commission, Nasreen Sheikh-Yousef, running on the Rose Slate, has started her service by hurling undeserved epithets at a Portland city employee, and that another member running on the Rose Slate, Shay Stewart-Bouley, reposted the epithets and added her own comments. Such demonization and polarization […]

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has tremendous power in regulating lawful gun ownership in America. The ATF interprets laws and issues rules and regulations that impact the possession and enjoyment of legally owned firearms. Whether or not someone owns a gun to hunt or sport shoot, or for personal protection, all of […]

It is time for Maine lawmakers to live up to our motto, Dirigo (“I Lead”), and end the sale of flavored tobacco products in our state. This policy will put the health and well-being of our kids ahead of the interests of the tobacco industry. For nearly two decades I have been a supporter of […]

I’m writing to support three bills currently before the state Legislature: L.D. 718, a bill that would restore affordable health care to immigrants; L.D. 1684, a bill that would expand English language and workforce training programs for immigrants, and L.D. 1329, a bill that would establish career advancement and navigation initiatives. I’m a co-founder of […]

Donald Trump recently told supporters that he expects to be reinstated to the presidency by August. And at a QAnon-linked conference, his pardoned former aide Gen. Michael Flynn acknowledged, when asked, that this “should happen” through a Myanmar-type coup, a threat he later walked back, though it’s a belief that QAnon followers have been promoting […]