On The Issues
Interested in learning more about some of these issues? Check out the videos on the Dive Deeper page.
Housing
Housing is a human right and a community good. We need a champion for housing on the City Council. In my time in the legislature, I have helped secure millions of dollars for low income housing development and advance policies that will create smarter development in our communities across the state. Housing is a complex issue, and we need solutions, not platitudes. I will work to advance real solutions on the city council.
Creating a Social Housing Developer:
Rents in Portland continue to be too high, even for middle income earners. In order for us to create the mixed income, vibrant neighborhoods where all Portlanders can call home, we need a Social Housing developer like they have in Montgomery County, Maryland. A Social Housing developer has one goal: to create affordable housing for all income earners. This will be a revenue neutral method of creating housing in which the public has equity and will address the crisis in housing that has been created by decades of federal housing policy that has prioritized profit over people, and commodification over community.
Short Term Rentals/Airbnbs:
Silicon valley shouldn’t be dictating housing policy in our City, that’s why I support limiting Short Term Rentals to only owner-occupied units. We need housing, not hotels. That is why I also support taking a harder look at some of the recent decisions the planning board has made to allow developments slated for housing to become luxury hotels instead, contrary to their original promises and plans.
Homelessness
We all agree that no one should have to live on the streets. Portland has carried more than its fair share of the burden for the entire state when it comes to helping people who don’t have a place to live. That’s why at the state level I sponsored legislation to prohibit other cities from banning homeless shelters. I will continue working to address this crisis in a humane way so that all of our neighbors can succeed and contribute to our community.
I will work with other municipalities to distribute the responsibilities with other communities, so that people who fall into homelessness can live in the communities near where they have support.
Similarly, several neighborhoods in Portland have disproportionately been tasked with providing shelter. I support smaller shelters spread more equitably across the city.
The long-term solution to homelessness is simple: housing. A Social Housing developer will create units for people to get into permanent housing and will create a source of revenue that can be used to bolster support services, significantly reducing the need to raise taxes.
My work in the legislature also secured millions of dollars for “Housing First” development and for emergency shelters, and I will continue to support those programs.
Rents in Maine have skyrocketed since
the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Source: @maineneeds on Instagram,
click that link for full details.
HEALTH & Safety
Reduce public litter associated with drug use (including needles)
Sign onto Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while expanding safe and healthy mobility for all.
Make large thoroughfares (e.g. Forest Ave, Outer Congress, etc) safer for pedestrians and cyclists
Expand traffic calming in our residential neighborhoods to prevent injuries and deaths
Plant more street trees
Get rid of the coal pile on the West End
Work with the State Legislature to fix and tighten laws limiting excessive and wasteful political campaign signs in roadways.
Environment &
climate change
Sea level rise and higher temperatures are our new reality. We need to fortify our city infrastructure against worsening weather driven by climate change.
Raise revenue for climate adaptation and carbon reduction efforts by assessing climate impact fees on major greenhouse gas emitters, such as cruise ships and megayachts
More aggressively work towards the goals in Portland’s One Climate Future plan.
Continue electrifying everything to reduce our reliance on burning fossil fuels.
Initiate a municipal composting program.
Investigate alternatives to the purple plastic trash bags.
Focus city resources on native plants, not invasives or imports
Schools
Our schools are the cornerstones of our community and our neighborhoods. It’s important that we keep funding our schools in a sustainable way, to adequately meet the needs of all of Portland’s diverse students.
Form a task force with the School Board to identify new sources of revenue to keep education fully funded and take pressure off property taxes
Work closely with State Delegation to fix the State School Funding Formula to make sure Portland schools get what they need
Transportation
Start rehabilitating rail infrastructure and rights-of-ways to prepare for 21st century transportation needs
Expand bike lanes throughout the city
Oppose the Gorham Connector, which will increase traffic and carbon emissions
Increase the frequency of METRO bus service, to make it a more reliable, realistic option for Portlanders seeking an alternative to cars
Working Waterfront
The people who work on the water were once the backbone of our city’s economy, and are still a major part of the character and history of Portland. We need to do all we can to preserve wharfs used for fishing and prevent them from being turned into high end hotels or condos. We’re also going to need to invest in making that infrastructure more resilient to sea level rise.
City Staff
Across the public sector, we need to ensure that we have dedicated, passionate individuals who want to help the city succeed in creative ways. Too often, our staff are underpaid and overworked, this leads to burn out and dysfunction in the city. We need to hire staff and ensure that their compensation is competitive so we don’t lose good people to higher paid jobs in the private sector.
Want to talk?
Send me an email!