WEN asked Portland City Council candidates about their experience, why they’re running, and how they would address housing affordability and homelessness
By Tony Zeli
The fall election is here. Voters start marking their choices for governor, US Senate, and a plethora of state and local races once absentee ballots arrive, and in-person absentee voting begins on October 5th. Here in Portland, the municipal election includes races for city council, school board, and water district.
At-Large Councilor April Fournier is running for Maine State House District 114, leaving an open seat that has attracted three candidates including a former mayor. Also, District 5 Councilor Kate Sykes, representing Portland’s northernmost neighborhoods, is not seeking reelection and is stepping back from holding public office. Meanwhile, District 4 Councilor Anna Bullett, representing neighborhoods such as East Deering and Deering Center, is seeking reelection.
I asked the candidates for their most relevant experience and number one reason they are running now. Given the limitations of space, I was restricted to one issue question. After reviewing our coverage over the last year, I was not surprised to find that affordable housing and homelessness were the most frequent topics. So, I asked the following question of the candidates:
Portland has seen a great deal of discussion—and considerable disagreement—over housing affordability, homelessness, and the city’s response to people experiencing homelessness. In 100 words, what do you believe is the biggest failure in the city’s current approach to housing and homelessness and what specific action would you take as a City Councilor to address it? How would you measure whether that approach is working?
Here are the candidates’ responses in their own words and edited to meet the required word count.
Portland At-Large City Council Candidates
Atiim Boykin
Experience: Co-founded a San Francisco collaborative court and served as a Forensic Intensive Case Manager in York and Cumberland Counties, closing service gaps and cutting recidivism.
Reason for running: I live in the West End with my wife Ruth and our six-year-old daughter, and I want her growing up in a city where the systems work. Most of my life, I’ve worked to fill gaps for people facing barriers to stability, in nonprofits and alongside government. Portland needs that bridge-building now.
WEN Question: The biggest failure is fragmentation, city HHS, state DHHS, and the community partners filling these gaps operating separately, while people struggling with stability, near homelessness, chronically unhoused, or managing substance use disorder fall through the cracks. As councilor, I’d build “One Door”: a memorandum of understanding and shared release agreements bringing city HHS, state DHHS, and community partners under one roof, so every person gets one real plan instead of bouncing between systems, while pulling in regional partners so Portland stops carrying this burden alone. I’d measure success by how many people move from languishing to stable housing.
Joey Brunelle
Experience: Chair of Portland’s Police Oversight Board (since April 2025), Chair of the Maine Dems Platform Committee on Economy & Environment Issues (2018), Pride Portland Board (2018).
Reason for running: We all deserve to live in a city that’s safe, affordable, and livable, but we’ve fallen far behind on homelessness, safety, climate change, affordability, and housing. “The way we’ve always done things,” isn’t working – we need a new approach. For a decade I’ve organized for effective ideas and better systems.
WEN Question: There is unprecedented homelessness in our country right now – Portland can’t solve this alone. The State must step up by building housing and drug treatment facilities, updating mental health laws, preventing evictions with rental assistance, and backfilling the Trump admin’s cuts to healthcare. To do that, Portland’s legislators and City Council must work together and speak for our needs with one voice. Simultaneously we must create a unified group of regional agencies and experts to set measurable goals and timelines, create actionable proposals based on measures that have been successful elsewhere, identify gaps based on unmet needs, and monitor progress.
Kate Snyder
Experience: Mayor, 2019–2023, leading the city through Covid. School Board, 2007–2013, including two years as Board Chair and two as Finance Chair. Also, diversity of work and life experience.
Reason for running: I’m running for City Council now because I have broad and very relevant qualifications for the position and I care deeply about Portland. There are very real challenges to livability, and I can help address them thoughtfully, meaningfully, and in partnership, with a lens crafted by experience, trial and error.…
WEN Question: The biggest gap isn’t Portland’s effort or investment; our municipal government works hard and invests in shelter, services, and support. But I believe the town-by-town approach to big system needs isn’t working. I think we would do better to move from a decentralized system to one where cities, towns, counties, and the state coordinate to provide shelter, detox and recovery beds, and mental health services across the state. If we can pair people with available resources, there will be fewer people in crisis at any one time. Additionally, we need more affordable and middle housing, and the city plays a key role in fostering new development.
Portland has seen a great deal of discussion—and considerable disagreement—over housing affordability, homelessness, and the city’s response to people experiencing homelessness. In 100 words, what do you believe is the biggest failure in the city’s current approach to housing and homelessness and what specific action would you take as a City Councilor to address it? How would you measure whether that approach is working?
Portland District 4 City Council Candidates
Anna Bullett
Experience: December will mark three years of serving as Portland’s District 4 councilor. For 10 years I have administered the USDA WIC program in Cumberland County.
Reason for running: I am running to continue the work achieved in my first term: Making streets safer, enabling more than 2,000 new homes, strengthening climate resilience, and investing in childcare and recreation. A second term will allow me to use trusted relationships and municipal experience to guide major infrastructure projects through completion.
WEN Question: Earlier this year, the Council scrutinized Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) which was well intentioned, but in need of reforms. I am happy to report this is currently in the works and should greatly improve housing opportunities. I will build on my trusted experience at the local, state, and federal levels, strengthening partnerships to improve Housing First development, along with mental health services. Also, I am proud of the recently achieved nightly on-peninsula warming center, a project we developed with non-profit partners and Maine State Housing funding. I cannot wait to continue working to make Portland safer and more welcoming for all.
Jake Viola
Experience: Ten years making government work better: includes implementing paid family and medical leave, partnering with mayors and city managers through Covid, and fixing unintended consequences.
Reason for running: I’m running now because too many residents feel disconnected from their local government. That’s why I’ve made a “24-Hour Promise”: every outreach gets a response within a day. District 4 deserves a councilor who’s accessible, listens, and acts. Solving problems takes trust, commitment, and all of us working together.
WEN Question: The biggest failure is adopting policies without measuring whether they work and not being honest when they don’t. Take inclusionary zoning: despite good intentions, it made building too hard and too expensive. Since 2020, it’s produced only 43 affordable units. As councilor, I’ll revise it, reform permitting to unstick roughly 1,000 stalled units, and press Augusta to pay its fair share of shelter costs. Our homelessness response must be compassionate while requiring accountability, using legal tools to connect people with treatment when needed. I’ll push for clear metrics with regular review points and change course if the numbers don’t move.
Portland has seen a great deal of discussion—and considerable disagreement—over housing affordability, homelessness, and the city’s response to people experiencing homelessness. In 100 words, what do you believe is the biggest failure in the city’s current approach to housing and homelessness and what specific action would you take as a City Councilor to address it? How would you measure whether that approach is working?
Portland District 5 City Council Candidates
Todd Chretien
Experience: I’m a small farmer; I know how to balance the books. I’m a Portland Public Schools educator and union member; I know how to negotiate.
Reason for running: As a Spanish interpreter, I saw thousands of Portlanders come forward to protect their neighbors from Trump’s ICE thugs in January, delivering food, picking kids up from school, and donating to legal aid. Let’s build on that solidarity to protect democracy and make Portland safe and affordable for all of us.
WEN Question: Portland’s biggest failure is the lack of a comprehensive plan resulting in higher property taxes. As a City Councilor, I’ll work to build 5,000 new housing units of all kinds in the next five years to grow Portland’s revenues. I’ll bring the Council, the school board, and our legislative delegation together to fix Augusta’s broken school funding formula, thereby lowering property taxes. I’ll defend Portland’s homelessness and public health services AND insist that all used syringes are disposed of safely. Success means families moving in, school enrollment up, property taxes down, and fewer people living on our streets.
Jakobi Delgado
Experience: As a young Portland native, I have the lived experience of the stability the next generation is struggling hard to attain.
Reason for running: I decided to run because I firmly believe the current Council has failed to meet citizens where they are. I have watched people ask for help, pour their hearts out, and receive little more than “We are working on it.” I’m running for a Council that doesn’t just hear people but listens and understands.
WEN Question: The city’s biggest failure is making it unprofitable for small- and medium-sized developers to build here. Constantly changing approval expectations, Inclusionary Zoning requirements, and an unnecessarily difficult process have created a system that favors large developers who can afford extensive legal services. If elected, I will work to reverse this damage. I will reform Inclusionary Zoning so it applies primarily to larger developments, make Portland predictable again so people without substantial financial backing can feel confident investing and building here, and fight for a simpler, transparent approval process. Portland needs housing, and we need a system that lets more people build it.
Ilma Lopez
Experience: As a mom I have the experience of being patient, feeling empathy, working hard for others… as a small business owner having to navigate team members, payroll, budget…
Reason for running: Our kids, our elderly, our working-class generation. It feels that we are forgetting about them. Education is one of the pillars for our future… we are making it unaffordable for everyone including them, medical bills, safety just to name a few… we are all in survivor mode and we deserve more than that.
WEN Question: That is a hard subject, I can say now without having the intel from the city council, it does not seem that the approach we have now is working. Once we get to work together in the Council we should look into all the empty buildings, houses, already existing buildings and see how much would it take to make them livable instead of going for new housing right away. I will be focusing on establishing the existing ones hoping that it will create housing options faster to fill the immediate need and what’s the priority, while keeping our budget in check…
Other Portland Races
Also on the ballot, Portland voters will find three school board seats and one water district seat. Each seat has drawn only one qualifying candidate, and none of the incumbents are running for reelection. For school board at-large the candidate is Lucia Rico. Alexandra Reissman is running for school board D4, and Richard Leone for D5. Daniel Hohl is the candidate for Portland Water District.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. Polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. For a list of polling locations in Portland visit: https://www.portlandmaine.gov/polling-places.
More from the Candidates
For more from the city council candidates on housing policy, check out the Urbanist Coalition of Portland (UCP) Candidate Survey. Also, find a question on Reimagining Franklin Street which touches on candidates’ priorities on traffic, pedestrian safety, and the future development of the thoroughfare.
