Sunday, May 17, 2009
Candidate Asks for Help with
Disappearing Signs
City Charter Commission candidate Jim Gooch is asking his
supporters to help him keep track of his campaign signs.
Gooch says that his signs are being targeted. He doesn't name any
suspects, bu says that several well-anchored, large signs have been
completely removed: one on Spring Street by the Holiday Inn, one at
the foot of Congress at the intersection with the Eastern Prom. Signs
belonging to other candidates at those spots have not been touched.
There are nineteen declared candidates for the nine seats available on
the twelve-member commission. Few of the candidates have done
any visible campaigning, and Gooch was the first to erect signs
around the city.
Gooch says that four smaller signs at Brighton Avenue by the law
school were removed; again, leaving others' signs untouched. He says
that he also had two large signs at the Back Cove: one at the foot of
Vannah Street, and the other directly across from the Hannaford
parking lot. The signs were mounted on 2'x3' sheets of 1/2 inch
plywood, and framed with battens. The plywood was mounted to
two 2x4s, which were sunk eight inches into the ground. They were
then back-braced by strapping that was screwed to 2x4 stakes, sunk
into the ground. All that is left of these signs are the stakes, says
Gooch. Everything else is gone, except by Hannaford, where there
are a couple of scraps with screws still in them on the ground.
As a first-time candidate, Gooch is not well known in Portland,
and says that the signs are a big part of establishing name recognition
for him, and represent a considerable cost in time, effort and money.
He does not have a campaign staff. He has asked his supporters to
take note of the signs they see, and get in touch with him if they
disappear, and he will try to replace them as long as he has
replacements. The election will be held on June 9th.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Greens Plan Local Political Potlucks
The Portland Green Party plans to hold regular political events in
Portland’s downtown where residents can gather to discuss local
issues. The events will be open to everyone and will feature potluck
dinners, political discussion, and music. The first event is scheduled
for Thursday, May 28th at 5:30 PM at City Councilor David Marshall’
s Constellation Gallery on Congress Street.
Marshall was elected Chair of the city’s Green party at a May 7th
meeting, replacing Tina Smith, who had resigned the post. Marshall
will serve as Chair until after the November, 2009 election. Marshall
is running for re-election, but does not yet have an opponent in the
West End race. He said he will focus on helping other Green Party
candidates win seats in that election. The Greens have three
candidates running for the City Charter Commission. That election
will be held on June 9th.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
18 Candidates Kick Off Charter
Commission Race
Eighteen of the nineteen candidates for the commission that will study
and make changes to the document that is the foundation of Portland’
s City government met for a forum on April 20th.
The Charter Commission Candidate Forum was sponsored by the
League of Young Voters and held at the Community Television studio
on Congress Street.
Among the issues discussed by the candidates were:
-the change to a system that would feature an elected mayor.
-changing the number of City Council voting districts, or increasing
the number of City Council seats that would represent individual
districts and decrease the number of at-large representatives.
-changing the way the School Committee budget is handled.
-giving city residents who are not citizens the right to vote in
municipal elections.
-the election or appointment of School Committee members.
-Clean Elections funding for municipal races.
The current City Charter has been Portland’s operational guide since
1923. A charter commission reviewed the charter from 1984 to 1986,
but their recommendations were rejected by Portland voters.
The election for the Charter Commission will be held on June 9th, and
its recommendations will be voted on in November 2010. The
Commission will consist of twelve members, three of whom have
already been appointed by the Portland City Council. Members elected
to the remaining nine seats will represent the five council districts,
with four electees being at-large representatives.
Three former mayors are running for the board, as well as the
daughter of another former mayor. Only former mayor Ed Suslovic,
who was on vacation, missed the opening forum.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Historic Local Political Race Being
Studied
A Massachusetts author is doing research about a particular episode
in contemporary Portland politics – the election of Green Independent
John Eder in 2002.
Jonathan Martin is a sociology professor from Framingham State
College who is doing research on progressive third party campaigns
in New England, specifically on what makes them more - or less -
successful.
Martin is also researching the 2006 race for the Maine House of
Representatives between Green Independent Ben Meiklejohn and
Democrat Anne Rand. Rand won that race, but gave up the seat last
year to run, unsuccessfully, for the Democratic nomination for
Portland’s state senate seat. State Senator Justin Alfond won that race.
Eder won the historic 2002 election for State Representative
representing the West End against Democrat David Garrity,
becoming the highest-ranking Green Independent elected official in
the country. He won re-election in 2004 against then-Representative
Ed Suslovic. Eder’s and Suslovic’s districts had been combined in a
controversial 2003 state re-districting. Eder was defeated for re-
election in 2006 by current Representative Jon Hinck. Eder was
recently elected to the Cumberland County Charter Commission
Professor Martin has interviewed a number of local political figures
and journalists familiar with the two races about which he is writing.
He is hoping that his research may lead to a book about the topic at
some time in the future.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Greens First in Line for Charter
Commission Race
Three young Green Independent Party members were first in line at
City Hall on March 23rd to turn in signatures for the City Charter
Commission race. Nine AM was the earliest that potential candidates
could turn in their signatures.
Anna Trevorrow, Dan Jenkins, and Ben Chipman will all be on the
ballot on June 9th.They are the three youngest candidates in the
Charter Commission race so far. Trevorrow is running for an At-
Large seat; Chipman in District 1(Munjoy Hill, East Bayside,
Downtown), and Jenkins in District 2 (Parkside, Bayside).
Trevorrow was a School Committe Candidate in the 2008 elections,
and Jenkins ran for the Maine State Legislature in his district.
Chipman has been a Green Party organizer and was campaign
manager for John Eder's successful runs for the legislature.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Marshall to Run for Re-Election in West End
City Councilor David A. Marshall announced on March 16th that he
will seek re-election to a second three-year term representing District
2, which includes the West End, Parkside, St. John-Valley, and
University Neighborhoods. Marshall, 31, is one of two members of
the Maine Green Independent Party elected to the City Council in
2006. He succeeded Karen Geraghty in the seat, and, as yet, does not
have an opponent in the race.
Marshall is a fine art painter and owner of Constellation Gallery,
located on Congress Street in the Arts District. He has utilized his
unique position as the first professional artist elected to the City
Council to champion creative economy policies.
After the City Council passed a controversial contract zone a couple
of years ago, Marshall reached out to the residents in the
neighborhood near Valley Street, which recently fell into poverty
according to the 2000 Census. Through public forums backed by the
Muskie School, the residents of the neighborhood developed plans for
improvements. Marshall and the neighbors created a neighborhood
association.
Marshall chairs the Energy and Environmental Sustainability Comm-
ittee, and initiated an Energy Service Contract to provide for energy
saving investments in all municipal buildings.
Marshall is also the Chair of the Housing Committee.
As the Secretary/Treasurer of the Greater Portland Transit District,
also known as METRO, Marshall chairs the Marketing-Operations
Committee. He lives on Pine Street in the West End.
Monday, March 16,2009
Donoghue Announces Re-Election Campaign
City Councilor Kevin Donoghue announced on March 15th that he
will seek re-election to a second three-year term representing District
One, which includes downtown, the East End, and the Portland
islands. Donoghue, 30, is the youngest member of the City Council
and is one of two members of the Maine Green Independent Party
elected to the City Council in 2006. He is expected to be challenged
by former East End Councilor Will Gorham, who he defeated for the
seat in 2006. Gorham is currently President of the Munjoy Hill
Neighborhood Organization.
Donoghue is a graduate of the community planning program at the
Muskie School of Public Service and has enlisted students to support
several community planning efforts in District One, including creation
of a redevelopment plan for the former Adams School on Munjoy Hill,
and a neighborhood reinvestment plan for Kennedy Park using
Community Development Block Grants.
Donoghue was elected following an unsuccessful secession effort on
Peaks Island and has since worked to establish the Peaks Island
Council, on which he serves as a non-voting member. Donoghue also
serves as a director of the Casco Bay Island Transit District.
Donoghue chairs the City Council Transportation Committee and is
President of the Greater Portland Transit District, also known as
METRO. Donoghue headed the Peninsula Transit Study, a policy
effort to reduce reliance on single-occupant vehicles, and introduced
U Car Share, a popular car-sharing program with vehicles at both
Monument Square and the Maine State Pier.
Donoghue has also served on the City Council Housing Committee,
and has championed reforming zoning to remove barriers to
residential development by allowing less parking and more density. He
said he intends to continue promoting affordable housing and
alternative transportation and sharpen his focus on food security and
energy efficiency issues in his second term.
Donoghue rents an apartment with his fiance, Krista Mitschele, a
social worker, on Munjoy Hill. His official business calendar is
available for public viewing at kevindonoghue.blogspot.com
Candidate Asks for Help with
Disappearing Signs
City Charter Commission candidate Jim Gooch is asking his
supporters to help him keep track of his campaign signs.
Gooch says that his signs are being targeted. He doesn't name any
suspects, bu says that several well-anchored, large signs have been
completely removed: one on Spring Street by the Holiday Inn, one at
the foot of Congress at the intersection with the Eastern Prom. Signs
belonging to other candidates at those spots have not been touched.
There are nineteen declared candidates for the nine seats available on
the twelve-member commission. Few of the candidates have done
any visible campaigning, and Gooch was the first to erect signs
around the city.
Gooch says that four smaller signs at Brighton Avenue by the law
school were removed; again, leaving others' signs untouched. He says
that he also had two large signs at the Back Cove: one at the foot of
Vannah Street, and the other directly across from the Hannaford
parking lot. The signs were mounted on 2'x3' sheets of 1/2 inch
plywood, and framed with battens. The plywood was mounted to
two 2x4s, which were sunk eight inches into the ground. They were
then back-braced by strapping that was screwed to 2x4 stakes, sunk
into the ground. All that is left of these signs are the stakes, says
Gooch. Everything else is gone, except by Hannaford, where there
are a couple of scraps with screws still in them on the ground.
As a first-time candidate, Gooch is not well known in Portland,
and says that the signs are a big part of establishing name recognition
for him, and represent a considerable cost in time, effort and money.
He does not have a campaign staff. He has asked his supporters to
take note of the signs they see, and get in touch with him if they
disappear, and he will try to replace them as long as he has
replacements. The election will be held on June 9th.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Greens Plan Local Political Potlucks
The Portland Green Party plans to hold regular political events in
Portland’s downtown where residents can gather to discuss local
issues. The events will be open to everyone and will feature potluck
dinners, political discussion, and music. The first event is scheduled
for Thursday, May 28th at 5:30 PM at City Councilor David Marshall’
s Constellation Gallery on Congress Street.
Marshall was elected Chair of the city’s Green party at a May 7th
meeting, replacing Tina Smith, who had resigned the post. Marshall
will serve as Chair until after the November, 2009 election. Marshall
is running for re-election, but does not yet have an opponent in the
West End race. He said he will focus on helping other Green Party
candidates win seats in that election. The Greens have three
candidates running for the City Charter Commission. That election
will be held on June 9th.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
18 Candidates Kick Off Charter
Commission Race
Eighteen of the nineteen candidates for the commission that will study
and make changes to the document that is the foundation of Portland’
s City government met for a forum on April 20th.
The Charter Commission Candidate Forum was sponsored by the
League of Young Voters and held at the Community Television studio
on Congress Street.
Among the issues discussed by the candidates were:
-the change to a system that would feature an elected mayor.
-changing the number of City Council voting districts, or increasing
the number of City Council seats that would represent individual
districts and decrease the number of at-large representatives.
-changing the way the School Committee budget is handled.
-giving city residents who are not citizens the right to vote in
municipal elections.
-the election or appointment of School Committee members.
-Clean Elections funding for municipal races.
The current City Charter has been Portland’s operational guide since
1923. A charter commission reviewed the charter from 1984 to 1986,
but their recommendations were rejected by Portland voters.
The election for the Charter Commission will be held on June 9th, and
its recommendations will be voted on in November 2010. The
Commission will consist of twelve members, three of whom have
already been appointed by the Portland City Council. Members elected
to the remaining nine seats will represent the five council districts,
with four electees being at-large representatives.
Three former mayors are running for the board, as well as the
daughter of another former mayor. Only former mayor Ed Suslovic,
who was on vacation, missed the opening forum.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Historic Local Political Race Being
Studied
A Massachusetts author is doing research about a particular episode
in contemporary Portland politics – the election of Green Independent
John Eder in 2002.
Jonathan Martin is a sociology professor from Framingham State
College who is doing research on progressive third party campaigns
in New England, specifically on what makes them more - or less -
successful.
Martin is also researching the 2006 race for the Maine House of
Representatives between Green Independent Ben Meiklejohn and
Democrat Anne Rand. Rand won that race, but gave up the seat last
year to run, unsuccessfully, for the Democratic nomination for
Portland’s state senate seat. State Senator Justin Alfond won that race.
Eder won the historic 2002 election for State Representative
representing the West End against Democrat David Garrity,
becoming the highest-ranking Green Independent elected official in
the country. He won re-election in 2004 against then-Representative
Ed Suslovic. Eder’s and Suslovic’s districts had been combined in a
controversial 2003 state re-districting. Eder was defeated for re-
election in 2006 by current Representative Jon Hinck. Eder was
recently elected to the Cumberland County Charter Commission
Professor Martin has interviewed a number of local political figures
and journalists familiar with the two races about which he is writing.
He is hoping that his research may lead to a book about the topic at
some time in the future.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Greens First in Line for Charter
Commission Race
Three young Green Independent Party members were first in line at
City Hall on March 23rd to turn in signatures for the City Charter
Commission race. Nine AM was the earliest that potential candidates
could turn in their signatures.
Anna Trevorrow, Dan Jenkins, and Ben Chipman will all be on the
ballot on June 9th.They are the three youngest candidates in the
Charter Commission race so far. Trevorrow is running for an At-
Large seat; Chipman in District 1(Munjoy Hill, East Bayside,
Downtown), and Jenkins in District 2 (Parkside, Bayside).
Trevorrow was a School Committe Candidate in the 2008 elections,
and Jenkins ran for the Maine State Legislature in his district.
Chipman has been a Green Party organizer and was campaign
manager for John Eder's successful runs for the legislature.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Marshall to Run for Re-Election in West End
City Councilor David A. Marshall announced on March 16th that he
will seek re-election to a second three-year term representing District
2, which includes the West End, Parkside, St. John-Valley, and
University Neighborhoods. Marshall, 31, is one of two members of
the Maine Green Independent Party elected to the City Council in
2006. He succeeded Karen Geraghty in the seat, and, as yet, does not
have an opponent in the race.
Marshall is a fine art painter and owner of Constellation Gallery,
located on Congress Street in the Arts District. He has utilized his
unique position as the first professional artist elected to the City
Council to champion creative economy policies.
After the City Council passed a controversial contract zone a couple
of years ago, Marshall reached out to the residents in the
neighborhood near Valley Street, which recently fell into poverty
according to the 2000 Census. Through public forums backed by the
Muskie School, the residents of the neighborhood developed plans for
improvements. Marshall and the neighbors created a neighborhood
association.
Marshall chairs the Energy and Environmental Sustainability Comm-
ittee, and initiated an Energy Service Contract to provide for energy
saving investments in all municipal buildings.
Marshall is also the Chair of the Housing Committee.
As the Secretary/Treasurer of the Greater Portland Transit District,
also known as METRO, Marshall chairs the Marketing-Operations
Committee. He lives on Pine Street in the West End.
Monday, March 16,2009
Donoghue Announces Re-Election Campaign
City Councilor Kevin Donoghue announced on March 15th that he
will seek re-election to a second three-year term representing District
One, which includes downtown, the East End, and the Portland
islands. Donoghue, 30, is the youngest member of the City Council
and is one of two members of the Maine Green Independent Party
elected to the City Council in 2006. He is expected to be challenged
by former East End Councilor Will Gorham, who he defeated for the
seat in 2006. Gorham is currently President of the Munjoy Hill
Neighborhood Organization.
Donoghue is a graduate of the community planning program at the
Muskie School of Public Service and has enlisted students to support
several community planning efforts in District One, including creation
of a redevelopment plan for the former Adams School on Munjoy Hill,
and a neighborhood reinvestment plan for Kennedy Park using
Community Development Block Grants.
Donoghue was elected following an unsuccessful secession effort on
Peaks Island and has since worked to establish the Peaks Island
Council, on which he serves as a non-voting member. Donoghue also
serves as a director of the Casco Bay Island Transit District.
Donoghue chairs the City Council Transportation Committee and is
President of the Greater Portland Transit District, also known as
METRO. Donoghue headed the Peninsula Transit Study, a policy
effort to reduce reliance on single-occupant vehicles, and introduced
U Car Share, a popular car-sharing program with vehicles at both
Monument Square and the Maine State Pier.
Donoghue has also served on the City Council Housing Committee,
and has championed reforming zoning to remove barriers to
residential development by allowing less parking and more density. He
said he intends to continue promoting affordable housing and
alternative transportation and sharpen his focus on food security and
energy efficiency issues in his second term.
Donoghue rents an apartment with his fiance, Krista Mitschele, a
social worker, on Munjoy Hill. His official business calendar is
available for public viewing at kevindonoghue.blogspot.com
| Anna Trevorrow for a Better Tomorrow The City Charter is the governing document for the city; think of it like the Constitution on the municipal level. Last November, Portland passed a city referendum to open up the charter to review by a commission. On June 9th, an election will be held to select members of the commission. Anna Trevorrow is running for an At At-Large seat. Here are a few of Anna’s positions: 1. Move from an appointed to an elected Mayor. 2. Emphasize neighborhood representation, and remove big- money from local politics. 3. Grant voting rights to non-citizen residents. FMI, contact Liz at lizmcmahon09@gmail.com Authorized and paid for by The Committee to Elect Anna Trevorrow, Anna Trevorrow, Treasurer, P.P. Box 4422, Prtlad, 04101 Anna Trevorrow for a Better Tomorrow |
| JUNE 9TH VOTE DANIEL JENKINS CHARTER COMMISSION DISTRICT 2 ENDORSED BY Former State Rep John Eder The League of Young Voters West End City Councilor Dave Marshall Paid for and authorized by the Committee to Elect Daniel Jenkins, 103 Grant St., Apt. 1, Portland, ME 04101 Treasurer, Daniel Harris |
| Tom Elliman At Large Candidate for Charter Commission -25 year resident of Greater Portland - 45 years in Maine -Munjoy Hill resident since 2007 -10 years in business in downtown Portland -TV weather reporter in Portland market for 10 years -Maine Sunday Telegram columnist for six years -Marketing executive for Ford Motor Co. (in Detroit) for 12 years -Self-Employed Marketing Consultant Committed to Portland's future Remember to vote on Tuesday, June 9th ! Paid for and authorized by Tom Elliman for Charter Commission, Peter Doyle, Treasurer |