Many Portland Democrats will have local legislative races to vote in during June 12's primary election, in addition to the top-billed US Senate races. Three of Portland's eight House districts have Democratic runoffs, with a total of eight candidates. While each has pet issues and projects, one-on-one interviews reveal a common thread: severe disillusionment with the current leadership in Augusta. Here, we offer short profiles of a few candidates who hope to take back the State House this year.
THE BRAINIACS OF DISTRICT 115 includes Deering and Back Cove neighborhoods
JUSTIN COSTA | This recent law-school graduate, who chairs the Portland School Board's finance committee, says he understands "not just Portland, but politics." Costa, 28, whose successes in that post include the creation and approval of a multi-year budget, believes "we need to be a lot stronger in Augusta." It's a risk, he says, "sending people who are brand-new to Portland or brand-new to politics." Costa believes we must reform Maine's economy to reflect the national economic shift from goods to services; he also says creating policies that favor the wealthy "is not just a moral issue, it's bad economics." He advocates close examination of tax breaks, capitalizing on wind-energy resources, and using "student achievement data in a way that teachers recognize is educationally valuable."
Related:
Stepping up to lead, Marriage activists get closure, look forward, The Phoenix endorses..., More 
- Stepping up to lead
Portland state senator Justin Alfond, 37, who lives on Munjoy Hill, was first elected to the state legislature in 2008, and spent the last session serving as assistant minority leader, was likely to become senate president when the Phoenix went to press on Tuesday evening.
- Marriage activists get closure, look forward
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree expressed what many in the room were feeling at Equality Maine’s annual dinner celebration on Saturday night: the function room at the Holiday Inn by the Bay on Spring Street elicits “a little bit of PTSD” for Maine’s gay-rights supporters.
- The Phoenix endorses...
A strong voice of reason on many issues, former Cumberland County sheriff Mark Dion is a solid supporter of medical-marijuana access, providing a powerful law-enforcement perspective that is credible because of his experience and his depth of thought about the larger issues at hand.
- Female Dems could help take back the State House
More than 25 alumnae and board members of Emerge Maine, the political training program for Democratic women in the state, are running for office in 2012. This is good news for both women and Democrats in Maine.
- Extremist Fail
A political story could literally not contain more irony than the story of the USA PATRIOT Act and its effect on the modern extremist right-wing movement.
- The con goes on
David Mamet has always had a professional fascination with confidence men who pretend to be businessmen.
- Ghosts of upstate New York
An alumnus of both True/False ’09 and last fall’s Camden International Film Festival, Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher’s evocative October Country screens at SPACE Gallery on April 8, as the first installment of an occasional CIFF Selects series, which seeks to expand the Midcoast film festival’s reach into Portland.
- Interview and photos: Gerard Malanga
In Walt Whitman’s notebook for the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass , he writes, “Every soul has its own individual voice.” That notion rang true for photographer/poet/filmmaker Gerard Malanga as he put together “Souls,” an exhibit of 100 portraits spanning five decades.
- Welcome back!
It's officially Deer Tick season
- Hello, we’re Johnny Cash
The Nave Gallery in Somerville kicks off its month-long salute to the Man in Black next week.
- Restaurante Montecristo
East Boston is a treasure trove of Latin American restaurants serving delicious, filling fare.
- Less
Topics:
News Features
, Justin Costa, Matt Moonen, Malory Shaughnessy, More
, Justin Costa, Matt Moonen, Malory Shaughnessy, Dauna Binder, Erik Jorgensen, Less
