The Maine Democratic Socialists of America launched a series of destructive ballot initiatives to fundamentally alter the City of Portland. The initiatives are led by former Mayor Ethan Strimling who is currently embroiled in a lawsuit resulting from his eviction from his $980 per month Portland-based apartment.
The first referendum increases the minimum wage for every worker in Portland to $18 an hour and eliminates the tipped wage, which the Democrat Socialists label a “vestige of slavery.” Maine servers strongly opposed the elimination of tipped wage proposals in the past. The referendum also creates a new level of bureaucracy in Portland with the newly created “City Department of Fair Labor Practices.”
The second referendum radically transforms the rights of property owners who rent to tenants in the City of Portland. The proposal regulates annual rent increase to only 70% of the consumer price index (CPI), requires property owners to provide a 90-day notice for lease terminations, imposes a $25,000 fee for any condominium conversions, and restricts security deposits to only one month of rent.
The third referendum places new restrictions on short-term rentals within the City of Portland with Airbnb as one of the most popular choices. The proposal restricts all short-term rentals to owner or tenant occupied buildings, increases the fees for short-term rentals, and requires owners to notify all residents within 500 feet of their building of any short-term rental use.
The fourth referendum provides further restrictions on the use of short-term rentals by prohibiting corporate owned or non-owner-occupied short-term rentals and additionally forbids property owners from evicting tenants and converting their properties to short-term rental use.
The final referendum takes a direct shot at the cruise ship industry in Portland. The proposal limits the number of passengers permitted to disembark in the City Portland to 1,000 people a day. According to MaineBeacon.com cruise ships made “409 port of calls and brought 450,000 passengers to Maine in 2019.”
The Maine Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) believe that “to achieve a more just society, many structures of our government and economy must be radically transformed through greater economic and social democracy.” This latest onslaught of referendums leads the DSA one step closer to realizing their dream of transforming the City of Portland into what they consider a utopian socialist community. Maine People Before Politics aggressively advocates for and promotes pro-growth policies that improve the quality of life for all Maine people. We’ll continue to shine a light on the destructive politics of the left and in particular the radical socialists that are intent on destroying Maine’s economy.