By Michael Shepherd - Sept. 20, 2023
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The first Portland mayoral debate on Wednesday was most notable for the deep discussion around the most pressing issues facing Maine's largest city: a housing affordability crisis, increasing homelessness and difficulty managing services for an influx of asylum seekers in recent months.

The race has been a quiet one so far, so the debate hosted by the Bangor Daily News and CBS News 13 was one of the first chances to see the candidates' rivalries and personalities on display. Watch the hour-long debate.

Here are the five lines that defined the hopefuls.

"Governor, I need you to come fully square with the city of Portland and take an active leadership role to provide us resources ... so first we can house all the immigrant families that are here."

This was probably the most newsworthy line of the night, coming from Councilor Mark Dion. The former Cumberland County sheriff and state lawmaker is a liberal Democrat on the Maine scale, but he is probably the most conservative candidate of the five here. For example, he is the only one who opposes raising a city minimum wage that rises to $15 hourly next year.

But the tough talk for Gov. Janet Mills could counterbalance his political profile in this liberal bastion. He is indicating a consensus stance in the city that the state should do more, but he was the only one to call out the governor. This suggests he would use the bully pulpit aggressively if elected in November.

"I live in Back Cove. I absolutely love the character of my neighborhood. On my street, we have single-family homes and we have multis, and it's OK." 

City Councilor Andrew Zarro was defending his growth agenda envisioning 12,000 new housing units in Portland over 10 years from a charge from Dion that it is unrealistic and could lead to political challenges in residential neighborhoods.

While all of the candidates said Portland needs to build more housing, Zarro was the most aggressive one on this topic, saying the city needs to look at busy road corridors and land now zoned for light or moderate industrial use for housing. If you're a one-issue housing wonk, he may be your guy.

"We have three members of the city council who are here right now, and any of these councilors could have introduced these zoning proposals at any time."

This was former Councilor Justin Costa nodding to the three councilors next to him and charging that they have not done enough to bolster housing. His central point was that the city can do a lot to aid developers in the short term and that rezoning plans will take time and create political divisions.

The five-person debate was mostly waged between Dion, Zarro and Costa, who were the most specific in their policy prescriptions and have spent a lot of time debating them in the council chambers. Costa is looking to leverage parts of his experience on the council and frustration with City Hall now.

"I don't think I remember exactly how I voted."

Early in the debate, Councilor Pious Ali was the only candidate who did not raise his hand to indicate whether he voted for a failed ballot question last year that would have strengthened the role of the mayor. He was given two opportunities to explain that before giving the puzzling answer above, going on to say that he thought the mayor's role could flourish either way.

Ali is a likable politician and the longest-serving city councilor right now. But he largely stood apart from the fray on Wednesday night, and his answers often lacked specfics. Some of that could appeal to voters, but this answer was awkward in the moment under the most generous interpretation. Some voters may take a less generous one.

"We need to lead the nation in rates of homeownership."

This was political newcomer Dylan Pugh. Coming into the debate, he looked like the most progressive candidate on the slate. He still may be, but he notably joined all the others in saying the city should revisit a hazard pay policy that leads the minimum wage to surge during emergencies.

His aspiration on housing is not going to happen. For one, Portland has always lagged Maine in homeownership because it is the state's urban core. Less than half of residents own their homes in a state where three-quarters of people do.

Absent major action on this subject, that probably isn't changing anytime soon. Average single-family home values in Portland are sitting at a staggering $529,000, according to Zillow. While Pugh and all the other candidates are calling for affordable housing as well, the conditions are not ripe for rises in homeownership.