By Michael Shepherd - Oct. 5, 2023
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Republicans point to Maine's largest city as it grapples with big problems. The cultural divides between northern and southern Maine are one of the defining characteristics of our politics. That ever-present theme is becoming more than just an undertone in discussions ahead of the 2023 elections.

Maine Republican Party Chairman Joel Stetkis used an email seeking volunteers to point to Portland's acute problems with homelessness, including camps in the heart of the city that have been swept but popped up again with no end in sight.

"Of course, Democrats and socialists are in full control of the city and have been for decades," Stetkis said in an email seeking party volunteers. "There's no question that the Democrats' policies have led to the situation in Portland."

It's a facile argument anytime sweeping societal problems are blamed on one faction or another, and this is true here. Portland is not the only Maine city dealing with homelessness that has also increased nationally. It intersects with a housing affordability crisis fueled in part by historic underproduction spanning different periods of party control in Augusta and Washington.

Things are certainly different in Portland. It is the main service center and the economic engine of Maine. Hundreds of asylum seekers have come from the southern border to the region in waves, including one that lasted through this year and challenged the capacity to respond in Portland and elsewhere.

It is the subject of debate in this year's mayoral race. In a debate that the Bangor Daily News hosted with CBS News 13 this year, City Councilor Mark Dion calledon Gov. Janet Mills to offer more help to the city in managing housing and other services for asylum seekers. This has been a mainstream position in city politics also advocated by outgoing Mayor Kate Snyder.

The Democratic governor has been cautious in responding. Her administration has noted support for Portland. With no fanfare, she accompanied the police chief to an encampment on Wednesday, although she was cagey on the issue in a stakeout interview with our media partners yesterday.

All of these problems in Portland and across the state mean the costs for services are going up. Lawmakers were told at a Wednesday hearing that General Assistance expenses have more than tripled since the year before the pandemic, hitting $42.9 million in the last fiscal year, according to the Portland Press Herald.

This is prompting discussions about reforming the program. While the Democrats in control of the Legislature and outside groups are pushing ideas to move recipients to longer-term programs, minority Republicans have been floating reducing the welfare rolls in line with the policies of former Gov. Paul LePage. They're talking about Portland as well.

"I’d be interested to see how much of that increase can be attributed to the city of Portland," House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, told the paper. "If it is a disproportionate amount as I suspect, then we as a state should take action to address it."