GORHAM, Maine — With boutique shops down the road from rolling farmland, Gorham is many things at once. A patchwork of rural households and Portland commuters creates a political landscape of in-betweens.
Now, voters in much of the town will decide between these two competing visions of Gorham.
Former Democratic legislative aid and bartender Ellie Sato is locked in a contest with Republican teacher and former coach Alan Livingston in the race for the 109th district—which runs through part of Gorham from the border of Westbrook to Standish.
Both candidates are seeking to capture an electorate that is confronting rapid growth and rising costs—a point of unease for longtime residents and newcomers alike.
"It’s a dilemma, obviously, because taxes are huge," Livingston said Thursday.
"That’s one of the key issues that ... [voters] raise as well, is not being able to live in a town that they’re from," Sato added.
Both see the issue of housing as a way to pick up voters in a town that votes Democrat (Biden won here in 2020) but carries a solid Republican base. Livingston and Sato diverge sharply on how to harness the issue.
Livingston sees some merit in the kinds of subsidies the Mills administration has put into affordable housing projects across the state, but warns against "constantly giving handouts," especially if they’re headed to immigrants instead of U.S. citizens.
"God, love them for … wanting to come to the United States and whatever, but I’m concerned that we’re not taking care of our own citizens first, our veterans, our homeless, and so forth," Livingston explained.
Sato, herself the daughter of a Japanese immigrant, who if elected would be the first Japanese-American in the Maine Legislature, is taking a slightly different approach. She argues, in broad terms, that the state should take an active role in increasing the number of units available to rent and buy.
"In terms of what we need to work on in the Legislature is working on stock and working on affordability and making sure that the housing we have available is actually realistically affordable for people to live," Sato said, adding that immigrants will play a central role in the growth of Maine's economy.
On key social issues confronting Maine—like reproductive rights—each candidate again appeals to a different sensibility within the district. Sato joins others in the Democratic Party in fiercely opposing the Dobbs decision, which ended the federal right to an abortion in 2022.
"One of the big reasons why I got into politics was because of Roe," Sato said, emphasizing the importance of protecting abortion care in Maine.
Livingston, on the other hand, is personally against abortion. On the state level, he is in favor of protecting abortion, but only really until the point of viability. That had been state law until Gov. Mills signed LD1619 last summer, protecting abortions after viability if deemed necessary in the professional judgment of a licensed physician.
"I think that Maine's law pretty much, prior to the last change in the law, satisfied most people," Livingston said, adding that he supports provisions to protect abortions when the health of the mother is at risk. "I would never vote for any law or rule that would jeopardize … [the] wellbeing or health of anybody in Maine."
Both Livingston and Sato see appealing to centrist and independent voters as key—instead of running as outright ideologues. It’s a strategy not uncommon in Maine elections, but one which shows, perhaps, that the electorate in Gorham is far from the solid blue and red towns on its borders.
With no incumbent to bring a home-field advantage, the race for House District 109 could very well reveal how much—or how little—the voting power in Gorham has pulled closer—or further—away from Portland.