Mayoral poll: What is Portland's greatest asset?
We asked Portland's mayoral candidates:
What is Portland's greatest economic asset and what do you intend to do with it?
The responses we received by our deadline follow. They have been edited for length.
Michael Brennan: Over a hundred years ago my grandmother came to Portland intending to build a better life for herself. Both my parents were born in Portland and grew up on Munjoy Hill. I was born in Portland, but when I was five years old, my father lost his job and my family was forced to leave Portland in search of employment.
Portland's greatest economic asset is its people, and I want to do everything possible to make sure that no person or family has to leave Portland because they can't find a job or because there's not a place for them in our community. In many ways, this has been my goal for the more than 35 years that I have lived, worked and raised my family in Portland. I have taught students and run recreation programs for disadvantaged youth. At the United Way, I worked with the business community to negotiate multi-million dollar bond packages that addressed some of the city's most pressing issues. ...As a legislator, I increased state funding to our schools by hundreds of millions of dollars.
Peter Bryant: A) Location, location, location. B) Promote it. Back Cove =Beautiful. City = Clean, safe. People = Good neighbors. Program = To promote visitors. C) Program Home Base: "We're coming to Maine - Where should we go?" Portland!
Make Portland your home base. Take day trips: Old Orchard, Sebago Lake, Peaks Island, etc. Return to your hotel (home base), clean up and go out to eat. See the sights at night, shop.
Ralph Carmona: Portland's greatest asset involves quality-of-life economic factors that are knowledge, service-related and creative. Portland will never be a skyscraper city, but a city rooted in the arts, cuisine, tourism and assets that are natural, like its parks, waterfront and architecture. ...I would work with Portland leaders to reach out beyond Portland and engage with other Maine elected and appointed leaders to establish more positive relationships in efforts to increase support for our city and its role as an economic engine per capita that surpasses any other city or region in the country. ...And I will seek to work with the city manager, business community, senior city staff, councilors and other key stakeholders on how best to push development forward in terms of goals and action steps needed for short- (6 months to one year) and long-term (two to four years) growth.
Jill Duson: Portland's greatest economic assets are the people and businesses who have devoted their lives and their livelihoods to sustaining a remarkable and successful city.
As mayor, I will devote myself to supporting these assets and improving Portland's economy by jumpstarting implementation of the city's newly released "unified economic development plan." I will go full-steam ahead with the business visit and other plan activities and emphasize a "love the one you're with" approach to helping existing Portland enterprises (big and small) who have deep roots in the city's economy. I will put a priority on helping existing business survive and thrive while supporting regional and statewide efforts to attract new business and new investors to Maine.
John Eder: The working people of Portland make this city great: the people who pour our coffee, bag our groceries, care for the ill, paint our houses and so on, are our greatest asset. They make Portland go; they give it style and heart; they spend their money at local businesses every day; they make up a tax base.
I want to make Portland more affordable for those people working in the service industry, struggling to meet their basic needs. I want to make sure they have a stake in Portland's bright future that they have helped to build by giving them affordable housing to significantly reduce their cost of living.
Hamza Haadoow: I do believe that our greatest economic asset in Portland is its people; if we do not have a skilled work force, we cannot make any difference. I will empower Portland citizens to get the educational skills that our businesses need.
Jodie Lapchick: Our biggest economic asset is our creative culture and all of the architecture, unique shops, galleries, restaurants, alternative music, healing arts and alternative lifestyles that tend to come with a thriving arts community. Having the seacoast at our side is a huge bonus that makes Portland more marketable than other cities trying to capitalize on a creative economy.
The city has just completed its first-ever Economic Development Plan and Vision. I intend to ensure that the marketing and branding elements that are critical to its success are met with experienced long-term stewardship. ...Without success in the implementation of this plan, especially around the critical issues of marketing and branding, the city risks wasting untold dollars and missed opportunities for attainable economic development. This is a complicated process and requires dedication, long-term availability and commitment, as well as a thorough understanding of collaboration around marketing and branding to ensure its success.
David Marshall: Portland's greatest economic asset is the downtown. ... Growing our population near the downtown will benefit business. The city of Portland will encourage development of housing by changing land use codes near the downtown and incentivizing with tax increment financing and federal, state and city housing funds. ... Increasing the efficiency of our buildings will help businesses be more competitive and provide cost savings. The city of Portland will help property owners qualify for grants and financing through public and private institutions and complement these resources with a revolving loan fund.... Improving the transit system will stimulate economic development and increase property values. The city of Portland will work to develop a plan for a streetcar line or bus rapid transit connecting to the downtown, seek federal highway funds help to pay for the infrastructure and utilize Transit Oriented Development Tax Increment Financing.
Nick Mavodones: The asset with the most potential for growth is our waterfront. We have done a good job protecting our working waterfront while making space for non-marine businesses; however, without a slight change in priorities and the right leadership, our waterfront, both as an economic asset and a way of life, is in danger of falling into the sea.
There are two things I would do to save the waterfront and make the most of its economic potential. First, I would work with investors to restore ferry service to Nova Scotia. ...Returning ferry service will provide a significant shot in the arm for Portland's economy. Second, I will work with the state to remove burdensome regulations that force Maine groundfishing boats to tie up in Massachusetts. By simply allowing fishermen to sell in their home state a modest volume of lobster bycatch, which is inadvertently caught in their nets, we could generate $390 million in economic activity over the next 10 years.
Markos Miller: In the economy of the 21st century imagination, innovation and creativity are the primary commodities. Portland's creative economy extends beyond graphic designers and gallery owners, it is an approach to work; it's the idea that we have the people and the talent here in Portland to figure out a better, more efficient way to do a job and achieve results.
...The real question is not which economic asset is most important, but how do we advance an integrated vision of economic development in which each sector plays a supportive role in the economic and cultural vitality of our city. The 'creative economy' and our educational institutions serve as the fertilizer in which a diverse economy can be cultivated. ...Finally, we must ensure that Portland is an affordable and attractive place to live for both those that participate in and partake of our creative economy. Affordable housing, transportation, and recreation options, good wages, strong schools and a supportive cultural setting are critical.
Jed Rathband: Hands down, our ace-in-the-hole is our unparalleled quality of life. Our quality of life unlocks our ability to attract and, more importantly, retain the innovators capable of helping us create jobs in our community.
In the words of Thomas Friedman, we're not going to land a company to provide us 10,000 jobs; we're going to find 1,000 people to create 10 jobs apiece. I subscribe to this line of thinking, as I believe that Portland can't compete with the likes of Texas or California in attracting businesses that require major tax incentives to consider relocation. However, we can compete for the companies and individuals who base their business decisions on sustainability and productivity. I intend to work with our economic development agencies, both private and state, to identify the businesses capable of expanding into Maine based both on the above criteria and upon their ability to provide a relationship that is mutually beneficial to the city of Portland and themselves.
Ethan Strimling: The waterfront is one of Portland's greatest economic assets and it is terribly underutilized. Instead of having a waterfront that is easily accessible, diverse in its economic activity, with green space and public walkways, we have half a waterfront that is overgrown and abandoned, with piers and pylons that are crumbling throughout, and the core of our waterfront has more parking spaces than anything else.
As mayor, I will make the waterfront a focus of my work so that at the end of my term, Portland will have the kind of jewel that Baltimore, Boston and many other first-rate eastern seaboard cities brag about. A waterfront that preserves our traditional marine and working waterfront uses, and is also inviting for public interaction, and has a deeper diversity of economic activity.
Christopher Vail: I think we will do well to concentrate our efforts on tourism and promoting our beautiful bay, as well as our vacant land opportunity. We need to decide to be a destination and harness the Portland experience through our ports on the waterfront and at PWM. If we had a concentrated effort, would we have a developed Maine State Pier to welcome our friends from the sea? We need to generate our enthusiasm locally and reach out from there. We need a local coffee house in our airport, not a national chain. We need tours, boats and buses guiding people around our city instead of busing passengers to the mall or Freeport...
Secondly, we need to develop our barren land on Commercial Street past the Million Dollar Bridge. We have some great open land on the water that screams for marine use, fisheries, recreation, office space and professional use. We need to stop fighting over what to do and not do on our waterfront, and realize we have the acreage to do it all.
Read responses to Question 2: In what areas can Portland be strengthened to benefit businesses?
Read responses to Question 3: What will you do to attract new companies here?
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