Last year Portland, Maine, voters approved a switch to an elected mayor; previously the mayor had been selected from and by the City Council. It will also be a full-time and powerful position. The power alone would be enough to attract a few candidates. But there are 19 so far and there is another month for candidates to submit their papers. One of the main reasons for so many candidates is the method of voting for the mayor. It will be by what many call instant runoff or ranked choice; I know it as proportional representation, which is the system I grew up with in Cambridge. Basically, voters assign a rank to each candidate, a first choice, a second choice, etc. The person with the lowest first choice votes is eliminated and his second choice votes distributed to those named, etc.
There are some interesting characters running. One was arrested for domestic violence, another for harassment by telephone (who wants to legalize prostitution and marijuana). One has run for other offices as a Democrat, a Green Independent, and a simple Independent. A fourth was the president of United Bikers of Maine. A newcomer to politics and a tv cameraman has perhaps summed up the campaign best, “I think Portland is a freakishly awesome little city and it deserves a freakishly awesome little mayor.”
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