PORTLAND, Maine — When Portland voters head to the polls this fall, there will be several referendum questions on the ballot. Some are recommendations made by the charter commission, while there are several citizen-initiated referendum questions.
Now, a group of Portland residents and workers, including a former city councilor, are urging residents to vote no on all questions.
"Political activists groups are manipulating Portland's referendum process, pushing policies so poorly designed and ill-considered that they can't pass them through our elected City Council. So instead, they've put them on the ballot," Nick Mavodones, treasurer of the Enough is Enough Ballot Question Committee said.
On Wednesday, Mavodones and other members of the Enough is Enough BQC gathered at Bruno's Restaurant and Tavern on Allen Ave in Portland to launch their campaign.
Mavodones says he opposes the content of the questions, along with the citizen referendum process.
"You work out details when committees have public hearings, you have committees, you talk through issues. Things you never even thought about," Mavodones said. "And then you're able to come forward with a recommendation that addresses most or all of that. The unintended consequences are what worry me the most about these questions."
Four of the the referendum questions were introduced by the Maine Democratic Socialists of America Campaign for Livable Portland. Another was introduced by a private resident.
"We're seeing a lot of people that are getting kicked out of their houses so that landlords can turn them into short term rentals," Wes Pelletier, chair of the Maine DSA Campaign for Livable Portland said. "We're seeing rents getting hiked up across the board unfairly and sometimes illegally, and wages that aren't keeping up with inflation."
You can read the full language of the citizen initiatives in the City of Portland's website.