Good morning,

Polls are open in Portland until 8pm today. We’re resending the election guide because, as it turns out, this post was our most popular one yet. Scroll down to get your guide and read up top to learn about the petitions you might be asked to sign related to coal piles and Republican schemes to shut down the state government.

Petition Guide

As you make your way to the polls today, you’ll probably see people gathering signatures for different local and statewide campaigns. Here are two notable ones to highlight:

Ending Coal Storage. A group has formed to require healthier storage of the 45,000-ton open coal piles at Cassidy Point in Portland and an eventual phaseout from 45,000 tons to just one ton. The petition — an Act to End Fugitive Coal Dust — can be read in its entirety here.

Suggestion: Sign this. No shady schemes here. It’s not an endorsement of the policy to get it on the ballot, and this is a worthy thing to debate and bring forward. 

People’s Ballot Referendum. A group of Republican legislators launched a last-ditch effort to reject the legislature’s continuing services budget. If this qualifies for the ballot (they only have eight more days to turn in signatures) it could force a state government shutdown. In the Press Herald Governor Mills warned that a shutdown would, “risk closure of Maine schools, hospitals, nursing homes, public colleges and universities, municipal offices, and bring road construction projects to a halt.”

Suggestion: Do not sign this petition. Republicans are playing in bad faith. Don’t reward their gambit. The budget passed by state Democrats isn’t perfect but it keeps the lights on. There’s a good chance Republicans fail to get the signatures they need, due to their own incompetent organizing. Let’s hope they fail.

We wrote about this budget a few issues ago, before the Democrats passed the supplemental budget, if you want to learn about what things like “supplemental” means here. Here’s what we wrote then:

Now, on to the guide itself:

Your Guide to the June 10th Election

It's that time of year: the days are long, lilacs are nearly all gone, and campaigns for the school board are slugging along at a slow, nearly imperceptible pace. 

This guide is going to give you a rundown of the three things on the ballot in the June 10th Portland elections— followed by some hot takes on how you might consider voting.

If you didn’t know there was an election: you’re not alone. There are only three things on the ballot, and it’s unlikely that many people will turn out. Keep reading and we’ll give you reasons to vote and, hopefully, everything you need to be prepared.  

Three Things on the Ballot

Question 1: School Board

There's a vacant seat on the school board. This is only to fill the remaining six months of the term. Whomever wins (and possibly the loser, too) will likely be back on the ballot again in September to run for a full term. 

Jayne Sawtelle is a former music teacher who is passionate about music and arts in education. Jayne recently retired after working in Portland Public Schools for 30 years. Jayne has stated to the Press Herald (and on her Facebook page) that she has a strong focus on making decisions that will improve the experience for kids currently in the schools. When asked about returning Portland Police officers to the schools in the private Facebook group "Portland Voices", Jayne was not supportive. She noted that while she had some positive experiences with officers at the schools, she would prefer to have a school liaison with the police department, rather than an officer hired and chosen by the Portland PD. The Portland Voices Facebook group isn’t open to the public but we’ve copied and pasted the candidate answers in this document.

Cassidy LaCroix owns a contracting business and has a daughter in Portland schools. LaCroix's statements are light on specifics but include an emphasis on school safety, teacher morale and a campaign commitment to vocational schools. In a statement published to the “Portland Voices” Facebook group, LaCroix stated he supports returning police officers to the Portland schools. 

Question 2: School Budget

This question asks whether voters approve the Portland School's $171.7 million budget. The budget has been developed, deliberated, and passed by the School Board and the Portland City Council. The budget includes added staff members for early childhood literacy, special education, and music. It's a $10 million increase from last year, due in large part to increased salaries and health benefits. 

Question 3: School Budget Vote

This question asks voters whether they would like to continue approving the school budget at the ballot box in June for the next three years. 

Hot Takes and How You Might Consider Voting

Hot take #1: There shouldn’t be an election in June. We’re voting on one single six-month term on the school board and on a budget that’s already been approved. No one shows up for June elections — because there’s usually very little to vote on. See the trends:

Voting Recommendations

Question 1: Jayne Sawtelle

Clear choice. Jayne knows the schools, seems like she's committed to the students above all else, and has made comments about how she doesn't like the fact that people often use the school board as a stepping stone to higher political office. Bonus reason to like Jayne Sawtelle: her signs are cool. We’d like to see more guitars on political signs.

The other reason Jayne is an easy answer is because Cassidy LaCroix is a hard no. His support of police in schools neglects to mention any of the negative and wildly disproportionate effects these officers have on students who aren't white. Of eleven donors to LaCroix's campaign, two are notable: real estate developer and landlord Ned Payne and landlord Bobbi Cope. Both Payne and Cope are vocal pro-landlord voices in the city. Payne is the Director of the Enough is Enough PAC, a real-estate funded group formed in opposition to progressive ballot measures whose latest efforts have focused on encouraging further violent displacements of homeless encampments. The pro-police stance, lack of any public service experience, and powerful right-wing donors are all reasons enough to vote against LaCroix.

Question 2: Yes.

Approving the school budget is an easy vote because it's already been approved, commented, workshopped, and passed by both the School Board and the City Council. If the budget were to be rejected, it would inevitably lead to less money for the schools. The school budget has never been rejected in Portland before, but the wealthy white homeowners who make up the bulk of voters in June are already upset right now about new property assessments and rising property taxes.

Question 3: No.

A million times no. Question 3 asks if we should keep voting on the school budget for the next 3 years. There is no good reason to approve the budget via ballot box. While democratic at the surface, June elections see a fraction of the voters turn out when compared to November elections. In November 2024, a whopping seventy-five percent of registered voters participated in elections. Only six months earlier, only nine percent showed up to approve the school budget. The voters who do show up in June are more likely to be wealthy white homeowners. They are the group that's most likely to reject a school budget and least representative of the incredibly diverse population of students in the schools. When asked whether they want to keep personally approving the school budget, this group usually votes yes. We don't need to do this. We probably don't need to be voting in June at all. 

That’s it! That’s all it takes. Do your community a favor and take a few minutes to vote.

That’s it for the sixth edition of The Burn. Keep reading! Please subscribe and share with your friends, too.

Authors and Editors

Em Burnett wrote this edition of The Burn, with excellent editing from Emma Reynolds.