Portland City Hall in March 2024. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

A crowded field of candidates seeking three Portland City Council seats in the November election is settled following Monday’s deadline for submitting nomination papers.

Ten candidates — some new, some familiar to voters (including former Mayor Kate Snyder) — will vie for the District 4, District 5 and at-large seats.

Only one incumbent, Anna Bullett in District 4, is running for reelection. District 5 Councilor Kate Sykes is bowing out of politics for now, while At-Large Councilor April Fournier plans a shift to the Maine Legislature following two terms.

The Portland Press Herald spoke with each of the candidates Monday, and many of their campaign themes overlapped. The biggest takeaway was that Portland needs to do more to address housing and affordability.

Here’s a snapshot of the candidates for each seat:

COUNCILOR AT-LARGE

Four candidates will attempt to persuade voters to support them for the seat currently held by Fournier.

Atiim Boykin, 50, ran unsuccessfully for the District 2 seat in 2024 but said Monday that many of the issues he ran to address two years ago still persist.

As a social worker, he said he has a problem-solving skill set that can help find solutions to some of Portland’s lingering issues, especially finding answers to housing affordability. He and his wife came to Portland in 2018, but Boykin said ever since the pandemic, Portland has experienced many of the same growing pains that befell other cities.

“It’s not too late for Portland,” he said. “We’ve lost some of what makes Portland, Portland, but we don’t have to lose it all.”

Joey Brunelle has been following Portland politics for many years and believes more progress could be made on issues under a new approach.

Brunelle, 41, ran for office in Portland in 2017 and 2018. He now serves as chair of the newly formed Civilian Police Review Board. Brunelle has also been a consistent voice during council meetings for years.

He said whether it’s clean elections, housing, renewable energy, or bicycle and pedestrian safety, “things take a very long time,” and he believes he could play a role in turning around quicker solutions.

Also on the ballot will be Maria Maffucci, a traffic manager/workflow coordinator at Daigle Commercial Group in Portland. 

She said Monday that she’s long aspired to run for public office and has accumulated a resume of volunteer positions and service on local boards in the eight years she’s lived in Portland.

“This opportunity is a true honor, and I’m humbled by the possibility to serve the city that has given me so much in just the past eight years I’ve called it home,” she said. “I’m eager and ready to get right to work and dedicate my time, energy, and voice to this incredible city and its people.”

Former Mayor Kate Snyder said she’s returning to local politics because she simply enjoys putting in the work of being involved and forming policies that can help.

Snyder, 56, served on Portland’s school board from 2007-13, and as mayor from 2019-23. Her term took the city through a tumultuous period that included the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests.

She said many of the same issues remain, including homelessness and the need for affordable housing. She raised three children in Portland, one of whom recently returned with a grandchild.

“Now I’m watching as this new generation makes its way,” she said. “Portland is a wonderful place, but I hear how challenging it is for people on so many fronts.”

Jessica Falero, who had also been certified to run for the seat, dropped out of the race earlier this month.

DISTRICT 4

In District 4, which includes East Deering and parts of the Back Cove, Deering Center and North Deering neighborhoods, Bullet, the incumbent, will face a challenge from Jacob Viola, who previously ran for an at-large seat in 2024.

Bullett told the Press Herald recently that she imagined herself serving multiple terms in order to build on her experience and relationships that lead to results. During her first term, the council passed ReCode Portland, ambitious updates to the city’s zoning ordinances, signed onto the Vision Zero pedestrian safety effort and more.

“True change that’s going to last builds at the speed of trust,” she said.

Bullett, the director of health and nutrition programs at The Opportunity Alliance, also chairs the city’s health, human services and public safety committee, where she has advocated for robust shelter services for homeless and found some success in relocating people to permanent housing.

Viola, 35, said he believes local government is where people can still make a difference, whether it’s snowplowing, property taxes or the quality of schools. Viola has spent a decade working for both government agencies and the governor’s office in Massachusetts, where his job was to implement — or fix — the policies set by elected officials.

“I’ve seen a lot of the unintended consequences of decisions made by officials,” he said.

He gave Portland’s current inclusionary zoning policy as an example, stating that he doesn’t disagree with its aim, but said it needs adjustments to improve.

DISTRICT 5

In District 5, which is Riverton and portions of North Deering, four candidates will vie for the seat being vacated by Sykes.

Michael Todd Chretien, 57, is a Spanish interpreter for Portland schools, where he previously taught Spanish at Deering High School. He also runs an organic farm.

Chretien, former co-chair of the Maine Democratic Socialists of America, said he’s running because he’s seen firsthand that it’s “virtually impossible” for families to afford housing in Portland. He’d also like to see the city do more to make sure that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not operating in the city and push for further changes to the state’s funding formula for public schools.

Jakobi Delgado, 18, would be the youngest person elected to the Portland City Council. The rising junior at the University of Southern Maine said he got involved because he’s constantly seeing friends forced to move away from Portland due to high costs. He said the current council has appeared “unable to address these concerns and unwilling to listen to the next generation of people coming into their lives.”

Delgado graduated from Portland High School and is studying economics at USM.

Kevin Gardella, 48, has previously run for Portland school board and state Senate, but this is his first time taking a crack at City Council.

Gardella said Monday that his experience working with vulnerable populations like older adults and those with developmental disabilities has given him a unique perspective on current issues. He described himself as “socially liberal and fiscally concerned,” particularly around continued property tax increases for Portland homeowners.

Homelessness, mental illness and approaches to affordable housing are also top concerns, he said.

Ilma Lopez, 44, was born and raised in Venezuela but has lived in Portland for 14 years. Both her children were born here, and she said Monday she’s running to “do something for a community that has been nothing but kind to me and my family.”

Lopez, the co-owner of restaurants Ugly Duckling and Chaval, said she came to Maine to make sure her children could have a different quality of life, and she wants to be part of ensuring that Portland can continue to provide that for working-class families.

She said as a middle-class family, the middle class is slowly disappearing and she struggles to tell peers or employees that if they work hard they will be rewarded.

“The cheapest house in Portland is half a million dollars,” she said.