May 30 – Three Democrats compete to represent part of Portland in the Maine House of Representatives and fill the seat of the retiring Speaker of the House of Representatives Rachel Talbot Ross.
Former state representative Herb Adams, retiring senator. Ben Chipman and former Portland school board member Yusuf Yusuf will compete against each other during the June 11 primary. The winner of the primary is expected to be unopposed in the general election in November.
The district is a Democratic stronghold and there is no Republican running for the seat. No independent candidates have come forward so far, although they have until Monday to submit nomination requests to the secretary of state. Registered candidates must report before August 27.
Talbot Ross, a Democrat, has held the seat since 2016 and cannot run for re-election due to term limits. She is running to fill the Maine Senate seat vacated by Chipman, who also can no longer run because of term limits. Talbot Ross, who faces no challenger in the Democratic primaries, has not made an endorsement in the race for her seat in the House of Representatives.
House District 118 includes a portion of the Portland Peninsula, stretching from Falmouth Street and Interstate 295 to Congress Street and from Deering Avenue to Washington Avenue.
Although the race did not raise large amounts of money, Yusuf raised slightly more than his opponents. According to campaign finance reports, he has raised $4,700, while Chipman has raised $1,000 and Adams $400.
The candidates outlined some overlapping priority areas, but said their experiences set them apart.
“Energy. Experience. Enthusiasm,” said Adams, 70, when asked why he runs. Adams, a former state representative, also represented part of the city of Portland in the Maine House from 2002 to 2010.
Adams said he wants to guarantee permanent funding for Maine’s free community college program, rather than annual funding. He also said he wants to expand student debt relief, increase state funding to help the city respond to the needs of asylum seekers and issue bonds to make more money available for the Land for Maine’s Future program and for housing development.
And he wants an Equal Rights Amendment added to the Maine Constitution to prevent sex discrimination. “That is long overdue,” said Adams, who works as an adjunct professor at Southern Maine Community College.
Chipman, 48, is completing his fourth term in the Senate and said he wants to continue his work in the House of Representatives.
“I think the biggest difference between the three candidates is experience and current experience,” said Chipman, who served in the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2016.
“I’ve been working in Augusta continuously since 2010. And in that time I’ve built relationships with colleagues and staff there. I know the process of how things work very well. I know as much about how to pass a bill as how we pass a bill being able to reject that which is bad (and) which we do not want to see adopted. And I have proven that over the past fourteen years.”
If elected, Chipman says he wants to continue working to increase funding for education, affordable housing, expand mental health services, address homelessness and substance use and push for a local option sales tax.
As Senate Transportation Committee chairman, he said he has also prioritized pedestrian safety, laws that benefit cyclists and the expansion of passenger rail and bus service.
And he said he hopes to revisit last term’s Democratic effort to enshrine reproductive rights, including the right to abortion, in Maine’s constitution.
“We tried that this session and came up a few votes short,” Chipman said. “I want to push for that again so that it is enshrined in the Constitution and future legislators or future governors cannot take away women’s right to choose. Making sure that is protected in the Constitution is important to me.”
Yusuf, who served on the school board from 2020 to 2023, said he is running because the experience opened his eyes to the need for better coordination between the city and state, and he believes he can make that connection .
A former mental health case manager, he cited staffing shortages among mental health and social workers as something he would like to address if elected. He also listed education, housing and tenant protections and advocacy on behalf of small businesses as priorities.
While his opponents have experience in parliament, Yusuf, a Somali immigrant who came to the United States in 2007 and moved to Portland in 2016, said he is uniquely positioned to connect with immigrants and asylum seekers and address their needs. to understand.
“I have the energy and enthusiasm to bring forward a different approach,” said Yusuf. “In my experience on the school board I have learned a lot about approaching any problem in different ways. My involvement was very helpful and different from many people who were already doing that work. I want to bring a new approach to the table and new energy.”
The race is decided using ranked choice voting. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes in the first count, a runoff is immediately conducted by redistributing the last-place candidate’s votes based on voters’ second choice. In-person absentee voting will run through June 6 in the State of Maine Room on the second floor of City Hall.
Absentee ballots can also be requested online, by mail or by calling 874-8677. Ballots must be returned by 8:00 PM on Election Day.
MEET THE CANDIDATES
HERB ADAMS
Age: 70
Political experience: Four terms in the Maine House from 2002 to 2010. Member of the Portland School Board from 1997 to 2003. Co-founder of the Parkside Neighborhood Association.
Education: Attended the University of Southern Maine. Executive program completed at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Occupation: Adjunct professor of social sciences and history at Southern Maine Community College.
Website: Herb Adams – Candidate for Maine State House District 118
Social media: Herb Adams on Facebook
BEN CHIPMAN
Age: 48
Political experience: Served on the Portland Charter Commission from 2009 to 2010. Served three terms in the Maine House of Representatives from 2010 to 2016. Served in the Maine Senate from 2010 to present. From 2002 to 2006 he worked as a legislative assistant.
Education: Associate degree in liberal arts from the University of Maine Orono.
Occupation: Owner and manager of two apartment buildings. Small business owner who performs closings for title companies.
Website: None
Social media: Ben Chipman on Facebook
YUSUF YUSUF
Age: 44
Political experience: Served on the Portland school board from 2020 to 2023.
Education: BS in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from Western Washington University.
Occupation: Self-employed entrepreneur and entrepreneur in personal care.
Website: Yusuf for Maine House District 118
Social media: Yusuf Yusuf for Maine State House on Facebook, @ysufjaale on Instagram
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