2023 Portland, Maine mayoral election
2023 Portland, Maine mayoral election
Candidate
Mark Dion
Andrew Zarro
First round
8,839 39.43%
5,902 26.33%
Final round
10,750 51.55%
10,107 48.45%
Candidate
Pious Ali
Justin Costa
First round
4,894 21.83%
1,771 7.90%
Final round
Eliminated
Eliminated
The 2023 Portland, Maine mayoral election was held on November 7, 2023, to elect the mayor of Portland, Maine .
Since 1923, municipal elections in Portland have not included formal partisan nominations. In September 2022, Mayor Kate Snyder announced that she would not seek re-election to a second term in office.[ 1] [ 2] Mark Dion was elected mayor after five rounds of voting.[ 3]
Background
Since 2011, all mayoral elections in Portland have used instant-runoff voting ,[ 4] a form of ranked-choice voting .
Nomination papers for the mayor, city council, and school board were available on June 30 and had to be returned between August 14 and August 28.[ 5]
Candidates
Official
Pious Ali, at-large city councilor[ 6]
Justin Costa, former city councilor[ 7]
Mark Dion , city councilor, former state senator, former Cumberland County Sheriff, and candidate for governor in 2018 (Party affiliation: Democratic)[ 8]
Dylan Pugh, software developer (Party affiliation: Democratic)[ 9]
Andrew Zarro, city councilor, District 4 (Party affiliation: Democratic)[ 10]
Declined
Emily Figdor, member and former chair of the Portland Board of Education[ 11]
Michael Kebede, former chair of the Portland Charter Commission[ 11]
Kate Snyder , incumbent mayor (Party affiliation: Democratic)[ 1] [ 2]
Ethan Strimling , former mayor (Party affiliation: Democratic)[ 11] [ 12]
Endorsements
Campaign
The major issues in the mayoral campaign included the ongoing housing crisis and homelessness crisis in the city.[ 15] The 2023 point-in-time count noted 4,258 unhoused individuals, 25% of which were considered chronically homeless.[ 16]
Another issue discussed on the campaign trail was a rise in hate speech .[ 15] Ali faced threats and harassment from the New England White Network ,[ 17] City Council meetings faced zoom bombing ,[ 18] and anti-semitic flyers were placed around the community on September 11.[ 19]
Results
2023 Portland, Maine mayoral election[citation needed ]
Candidate
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Votes
%
Transfer
Votes
%
Transfer
Votes
%
Transfer
Votes
%
Transfer
Votes
%
Mark Dion
8,839
39.43%
+ 10
8,849
39.50%
+ 60
8,909
39.88%
+ 516
9,425
42.56%
+ 1,325
10,750
51.55%
Andrew Zarro
5,902
26.33%
+ 26
5,928
26.46%
+ 363
6,291
28.16%
+ 636
6,927
31.28%
+ 3,180
10,107
48.45%
Pious Ali
4,894
21.83%
+ 23
4,917
21.95%
+ 362
5,279
23.63%
+ 515
5,794
26.16%
- 5,794
Eliminated
Justin Costa
1,771
7.90%
+ 4
1,775
7.92%
+ 86
1,861
8.33%
- 1,861
Eliminated
Dylan Pugh
908
4.05%
+ 26
934
4.17%
- 934
Eliminated
George Rheault(Write-in )
100
0.45%
- 100
Eliminated
Total votes
22,414
100.0%
References
^ a b Ohm, Rachel (12 September 2022). "Portland Mayor Kate Snyder won't seek reelection in 2023" . Portland Press Herald . Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022 .
^ a b Hirschkorn, Phil (13 September 2022). "Portland mayor opts out of second term, will campaign to preserve current system of government" . WMTW . Retrieved 23 September 2022 .
^ Schroeder, Nick (8 November 2023). "Dion, Portland's version of a law-and-order candidate, wins mayoral race" . Maine Morning Star .
^ Ranked Choice Voting City of Portland, Maine
^ "Race for Portland mayor heats up as City Councilor Andrew Zarro enters" . Yahoo Finance . 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-06-03 .
^ Hoey, Dennis (2023-08-01). "City Councilor Pious Ali joins growing field in Portland mayoral race" . Press Herald . Retrieved 2023-08-10 .
^ Ohm, Rachel (2023-07-18). "Former Portland city councilor enters race for mayor" . Press Herald . Retrieved 2023-08-10 .
^ Bartow, Adam (2023-06-29). "Portland city councilor, former sheriff, announces run for mayor" . WMTW . Retrieved 2023-08-10 .
^ "New candidate for Portland mayor throws hat in the race" .
^ Ohm, Rachel (9 May 2023). "Race for Portland mayor heats up as City Councilor Andrew Zarro enters" . Press Herald .
^ a b c Ohm, Rachel (13 September 2022). "With Kate Snyder stepping aside, who will run for Portland mayor?" . Portland Press Herald . Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022 .
^ "Despite Election Day failures, progressive reforms could still be in Portland's future" . Strimling, who lost to Snyder in 2019, said he has "no plans" to run for a vacant mayor position in 2023
^ Strimling, Ethan (October 25, 2023). "Opinion: Why I am voting for Pious Ali for Portland Mayor" . Maine Beacon .
^ a b Writer, Grace BenninghoffStaff (2023-10-19). "Kate Snyder endorses Mark Dion, Andrew Zarro for Portland mayor" . Press Herald . Retrieved 2023-10-19 .
^ a b Cover, Susan (21 September 2023). "Portland mayoral candidates address homelessness crisis" . Spectrum News . Retrieved 1 October 2023 .
^ Bader, Emily (21 May 2023). "Homeless people ponder next destination as Portland housing crisis intensifies" . The Maine Monitor . Retrieved 1 October 2023 .
^ "Pious Ali on LinkedIn: Hello, Portland community! I don't usually share the racist attacks I... | 16 comments" . www.linkedin.com . Retrieved 1 October 2023 .
^ Clarke, Talia (20 September 2023). "Hate speech disrupts Portland City Council meeting, brings Mayor to tears" . WMTW . Retrieved 1 October 2023 .
^ Bennett, Troy R. (11 September 2023). "Antisemitic 9/11 flyers appear in Portland on anniversary of attacks" . Bangor Daily News . Retrieved 1 October 2023 .
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