Conservative conundrum

How Portland votes in November will decide whether City Council tilts away from the left

By Noah Bruce

TOM KANE: wants to spend more time with the family.

The race for Portland City Council is off to an intriguing start. There are three seats up for grabs and one of the incumbents, Tom Kane, has announced that he will not seek re-election. While the other incumbents, Jim Cloutier and Nathan Smith are expected to win, the loss of Kane paves the way for a possible power shift towards (at least fiscal) conservatism.

Though it’s still early in the Portland City Council election process — nomination papers are not due until September 18 — the race could easily shift the political balance on which city hall tenuously rests.

Currently, there is a liberal voting block on the council that is four strong — only one shy of the majority. While the four — councilors Kane, Cloutier, Karen Geraghty, and Peter O’ Donnell — do not necessarily agree on every item that comes before them, they tend to vote together on key issues, as they did when approving a TIF for the waterfront.

If Kane’s presence is replaced by a more conservative voice, the scales will be tipped toward the center, even right. The liberal block would be reduced to three and would need two rather than one vote from the centrist councilors to pass an agenda item.

The new conservative voice could realistically be Ken Cole’s, current chairman of the planning board, and a strong fiscal conservative. Cole says he is gunning for Cloutier, who he blames for the 11 percent rise in property taxes the past two years, but he doesn’t have to

beat Cloutier to get an at-large seat. It may be more accurate to say Cole is competing with Jill Duson, current chairwoman of the school committee. Duson’s politics are much closer to Kane’s, though she describes herself as not quite as liberal.

Throw five lesser known candidates — bar and restaurant owner Russell Riseman, “rock ’n’ roll blue-collar Republican” lawyer Michael Latorre, computer consultant Chris Breen, manager for a medical supplies company John Haley, and John Lumppio — into the mix and it should be an interesting council race.

JIM CLOUTIER: incumbent likely to keep his at-large seat. He might take heat for high taxes.

A note on terms

While Ken Cole and most of the potential and current councilors consider themselves “socially liberal” — no councilor actively opposes gay rights legislation, for instance — there are wide discrepancies in the candidates’ economic philosophies.

As the outgoing Kane says, “Sometimes people say they are socially liberal and economically conservative, but if you’re not willing to put money where mouth is . . .”

Though the terms “liberal” and “conservative” sometimes become skewed, especially when applied to non-partisan Portland city politics, for the sake of this argument, they define a politician’s fiscal policy.

A liberal is more willing to spend taxpayer money to fund entities that exist for the public good: like public schools or the land bank committee that prioritizes land for conservation. A conservative is more concerned with halting rising taxes by curbing spending, and expanding the tax base by encouraging development.

Related to development is the waterfront issue. While there are no hard and fast rules, the conservative stance is more open to zoning changes to permit waterfront development, while the liberal position supports continued deep-water zoning that preserves the working waterfront.

District Three

Currently there are only two candidates running for Kane’s district three seat. The favorite, current at-large councilor Smith, a lawyer by trade, is a swing vote on the council. Though he usually votes with the liberals, especially on social or quality of life issues (like universal health care or preserving open spaces), on certain key issues he votes with the conservative side of the council. For instance, he voted with Dawson and Mavodones (considered centrists) and Leeman and Hibbard (considered conservatives) not to enact the moratorium on development in the city.

As a volunteer with United Way and a commissioner at the Maine State Housing Authority, Smith has been an affordable housing advocate “on and off” for 15 years, and the issue has been his prime concern on the city council. He was instrumental in the creation of Unity Village, a mixed-income housing development in Bayside. Among Smith’s other accomplishments on the council, he says he is most proud of the overall planning for redevelopment in Bayside, the long-term study of athletic fields in the city, and his work as first chair of the land bank committee.

According to ex-city counselor Orlando Delogue, “Smith will be hard to unseat . . . He’s a decent guy who comes across as thoughtful and tries hard to create consensus. Unless someone of considerable stature and name recognition steps forward, he will have an easier time this year than last.”

Smith’s competition is John Francis Haley, a political newcomer to Portland. Haley, who works for a home medical supplies company, was compelled to throw his hat into the ring after his experience with the notorious housing developer Ric Weinschenk.

“I bought a home,” says Haley, “built by a guy with a 10-year history of building faulty projects, yet Portland continues to let him build.”

Haley says he wants the city to provide more oversight of developers, and says, like Kane, he would be an advocate for Portland’s neighborhoods. He stresses that, though he was compelled to enter the race due to his negative experience with a developer, development is not his only concern and he is currently developing a political platform.

Though Haley appears earnest, it’s difficult to see him unseating Smith.

NATHAN SMITH: look for him to take Kane’s seat.

At-large seats

With both Smith and Cloutier up for re-election, there are two at-large seats available and a pool of seven potential candidates. All at-large candidates run against each other (as opposed to there being individual races for each of the two seats) with the first and second place vote-getters winning seats on the council.

Current at-large councilor Cloutier is the favorite. (Smith is aiming at District Three.) Cloutier is a lawyer who is seen as a stalwart liberal with a mind for finance. It was Cloutier who worked out the nuts and bolts of the refinancing of the pension debt that saved the city $850,000. One of his competitors, Ken Cole, points out, however, that during Cloutier’s two-year reign as chair of the finance committee the tax rate has increased by nearly 15 percent, if you take into account the raise in the valuation of the city’s property.

Cloutier stresses new fundraising mechanisms to improve the city’s financial position instead of slashing its budget. He mentions TIFs, non-profit exemption reform, and perhaps a local-option sales tax as new revenue sources. To that end he has worked to create the Maine Service Center Coalition, a group that will lobby on behalf of Maine’s cities for economic reform.

Other issues that Cloutier considers important include protecting Portland’s neighborhoods from busy traffic, renovating the elementary schools, and building affordable housing, especially for elderly and special needs communities. He says he is most proud of his contribution to the expansion of before- and after-school programs, the conversion of Brighton Avenue to a safer, three-lane road, and moving city elections to November to coincide with state and federal elections. (Ironically, this first November election will not coincide with any state or federal race.)

Cloutier, who describes himself as a person with “a progressive state of mind,” is an attractive candidate to many Portlanders concerned with neighborhood traffic issues, the state of the schools, and affordable housing. However, as chair of the finance committee it will be easy for opposition to blame him for the rise in the property tax over the last two years. Though Cloutier is considered the front runner in the election, if too many property owners decide to vote their pocketbook, he could be in trouble.

Taking direct aim at Cloutier is Cole, a municipal lawyer and chairman of the planning board who says “I’m not running for the open seat, I’m running against Jim Cloutier. [The voters] can make a very clear ideological choice between Jim and I.”

The difference between Cole and Cloutier comes down to their willingness to spend taxpayer money. Cole is up front about the fact that he favors more discipline in cutting the school budget to keep taxes down. If he had been on the council this year, it’s possible the city would have made the school committee cut its budget further. If this had happened, it’s a good bet Portland’s award winning sex-ed curriculum, along with other programs, would have been eliminated.

Unlike Cloutier, Cole does not believe Portland has enough money to purchase open spaces for preservation. Rather, he thinks the city should levy impact fees on residential developers, with that money going to funding open space preservation.

Cole, who has been characterized by Kane as “laissez-faire” in his approach to development, shows by his willingness to levy an impact fee on developers that he cannot be too easily categorized.

Leeman alludes to the probable characterization of Cole as strictly pro-business when she says: “Clearly, there will be some rhetoric and some misidentification of what people may represent. They’re going to try to paint people into a corner of only representing one type of people.”

Delogue calls Cole “a credible candidate . . . who can raise as much money as he wants or needs. He knows lots of people, he’s bright, he cares about the city. Not everyone agrees with him . . . He’s got some following and things he can point to and things he has participated in that most people would say are to his credit.”

Cole speaks bluntly and some insiders say this feature has gained him some political enemies. He will appeal to anyone whose main concern is the rising property tax, however voters more concerned with the quality of public schools or the preservation of spaces may be leery of Cole. Another potential liability in progressive Portland is the perception that he is the friend of developers and business in general.

Cole also faces serious competition from Jill Duson, current chairwoman of the school committee. Of Duson, Cole says, “I don’t know what Jill Duson stands for except that she is more responsible for the tax raises in the last two years than anyone else. The school committee has not made tough choices . . . let’s face it.”

Duson sees herself politically as between Tom Kane and Cheryl Leeman, though insiders say she is closer to the former than the latter. Indeed, the liberal-minded Kane says he is backing Duson (in addition to Smith and Cloutier). She is an attorney by training who currently works with Northern Utilities as manager of regulatory and government policy.

Duson will obviously be a strong supporter of the school committee, but she says, from her years as an advocate for Maine’s elderly, she understands the position of the property owner who cannot afford high taxes. Her perceived liberalism is also tempered by her experience with business concerns as a member of the Portland and Maine state chambers of commerce.

Aside from her philosophic differences with Ken Cole, Duson also exhibits a quieter style. She says the council sometimes conducts its business in a “contentious” manner, and she would like to see it operate more “respectfully.”

Trained as a mediator, she says she “loves the process of sitting down and figuring out what is ticking people off and what makes people happy and figuring out what works best. I like digging down into the nitty gritty of an issue and making government a process that works for everyday people.”

Duson will especially appeal to voters concerned with the public schools. However, she is also attractive to voters who appreciate a politician who works as a consensus builder. Her liability is similar to Cloutier’s — she may be held responsible for the rising property tax.

Delogue says she “seems to have done a good job on the board. She was respected and liked. School people touch lots of neighborhoods and activists. If they turn out and feel the need to get another one of their people on the council . . . they could be a formidable force.”

THE DARK HORSES: one of them may win, but they’ll have to make a late charge from the outside.

Dark Horses

In addition to Cloutier, Cole, and Duson, there are four politically lesser known candidates vying for an at-large seat. It is worth noting that, at this stage of the game, candidates without political experience can’t be expected to have as sophisticated a command of the issues as their competitors, who are currently more involved in city politics.

The first, and possibly most high-profile, is Russell Riseman, owner of the Alehouse, Toney Baloney’s, and the 1810 Tuscan Grill in Kennebunk. Riseman is one of the leaders within the community of Old Port bar and club owners that has banded together to fight City Hall’s proposal to tax them to pay for extra police needed in the area. Referring to the tax, Riseman says “the nightclubs are being made pariahs and are being made to pay for problems that only a couple of people are creating.”

Riseman believes that the bar owners who have frequent problems with the police should be made to pay for the extra cops. Beyond this one specific issue, Riseman says he would be a candidate who represents the small business community in general. “I’m a business man,” he says. “I work in the city. I live in the city. I raise a family in the city. I’m in the trenches. People in the trenches need to be represented.”

While he does not have prior political experience, Riseman, through his visibility as a bar and restaurant owner, could represent a threat.

Considered by at least one insider to be a potential sleeper candidate is Michael Latorre, a business lawyer who is already going door-to-door speaking about the issues with voters. For a candidate without prior experience, Latorre has a specific platform and some creative ideas.

For example, Latorre wants to cut property taxes by five percent in two years. While this may be a long shot, he offers two solutions to help the city achieve the goal. First he recommends offering economic incentives to “line level” city employees who come up with ways to cut costs. Second, he would create a full-time city position for someone who would advocate for the taxpayer by reviewing the budget and challenging division heads on their budgetary requests.

Latorre is one of the only candidates who mentioned improving municipal transportation as one of his primary concerns. He believes improved public transportation would allow greater development in suburban areas without the corresponding issues of traffic and sprawl.

Like Latorre, Christopher Breen believes the city needs to be run as a business. Breen has also gotten an early start, and like Latorre has already printed campaign materials. Breen, who is a computer consultant, has two main issues at this point.

First, he believes the city needs to implement more information technology. He offers the example of cutting printing costs by using email instead of the paper cards the city currently uses to inform residents of upcoming events. Second, he wants to encourage more volunteerism and mentoring, especially in the schools. Breen points out that Portland spends more money per student than other Maine cities but has a higher dropout rate, and this, in turn, affects other aspects of the community.

If you listen to ex-councilor Orlando Delogue, none of these candidates has much of a chance. “My judgment is that none of them will make a significant dent. You’ve got to find a way to project who you are and what you’re about into the public arena. I don’t think any of them have done that . . . This suggests they will not catapult themselves this time around into city office, no matter how hard they work.”

However, the fact that this election does not coincide with state or federal races could work to these candidates’ advantage. In a smaller pool of voters, a relatively unknown candidate has more possibility to steal an election by unifying a distinct voting group (say, Riseman and the pub crowd).

Current councilor Tom Kane thinks that any candidate who puts in the work stands a chance. “I think any election is always up for grabs and there have been upsets over the years, most recently Jay Hibbard. You never know in an election. For me the key is meeting as many people as possible.” n

Noah Bruce can be reached at nbruce@phx.com.