3/25/2023 0 Comments The porthole portland"I just hope that Portland voters listened to those workers who will be intimately affected if Question D passes." "My gut feeling is great, but my mind not necessarily the same," Chaisson said. Joshua Chaisson, a server at the Porthole who is also a spokesperson for Restaurant Industry United, which opposed Question D, said he wasn't sure how voters would respond to the ballot measure. "Based on the voter turnout, which was heavy, I am optimistic that they will turn down all of the measures," said Hentzel, who also serves as President and CEO of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce. Spokesperson Quincy Hentzel said she was hopeful that voters listened to residents and workers who believe that taxes will increase and quality of life will go down if those measures are approved. With many results still unknown, several attendees left to go home before 10 p.m. The measure was losing 12,505 to 5,191 at midnight. Enough is Enough opposed the measure because it feels it would harm business owners. Meanwhile, opponents of the referendums gathered at the Porthole for a watch party organized by Enough is Enough.Ĭheers erupted when a newscast reported that Question E, which would restrict the number of cruise ship passengers who can disembark, was losing. "Everyone knows Portland is simply not affordable, and we are proud to stand in defense of tenants," Pelletier said. Pelletier said he was more encouraged by early results on Question C. "We're incredibly thankful to all of the restaurant workers who spoke out and stood up to defend the livelihoods we value so dearly," Chaisson said in a statement. Joshua Chaisson, a spokesperson for Restaurant Industry United, said the DSA and One Fair Wage tried to "upend and redesign our industry." "It's disheartening to see but we will not stop fighting for higher pay for workers." "The National Restaurant Association poured $1 million into this campaign with disinformation about how tipping would go down," Pelletier said. Pelletier said that it was disappointing to see the minimum wage proposal seemingly go down, but the DSA was proud to stand with workers. He said definitive results would not be known until later Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning.īy 10:30 p.m., DSA organizers were shutting down the party. Many wore bright red shirts that read "Maine DSA for a Livable Portland." Signs throughout Ruby's urged Portlanders to vote "Yes to $18 with Tips on Top."Īs results came in, DSA spokesperson Wes Pelletier and other volunteers hunched over cellphones looking at what were initially discouraging results for most Portland ballot initiatives.įormer Mayor Ethan Strimling, a DSA member, said the minimum wage initiative is "not looking good" so far, but there were still a lot of absentee ballots to be counted. Members of Maine DSA and One Fair Wage, a group supporting Question D, gathered at a watch party Tuesday night at Ruby's West End, where about 50 party goers were waiting for results to come in. This is a huge victory for so many workers in Portland who spoke out and shared their story," Quincy Hentzel, spokesperson for Enough is Enough, which asked Portland voters to oppose all 13 ballot questions., said in a statement. Portland voters trusted the voices of our local workers over national celebrities, who know nothing about our people or our city. Their effort was about a national group who used Portland as a testing ground to push their extreme policy agenda. The Democratic Socialists of America did not have Portland workers in mind when they brought forward this question. There were 17,871 votes in favor of the question, versus 14,680 against.Īll charter questions, with the exception of Questions 2 and 5 - which would remove the City Council's vote on the school budget - were approved by voters, including Question 3, a proposal for clean elections that won by a vote of 21,579 to 11,465. Of those questions, only Question C, which sought to protect renters and strengthen the city's rent control ordinance, was passed by voters. Four of the citizen-initiated questions were sponsored by the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America's Livable Portland campaign and one, Question A, was sponsored by short-term rental operators.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |