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Ethan Strimling

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Ethan Strimling
88th Mayor of Portland, Maine
In office
December 7, 2015 – December 2, 2019
Preceded byMichael F. Brennan
Succeeded byKate Snyder
Member of the Maine Senate
from the 8th district
In office
January 2003 – January 2009
Preceded byAnne Rand
Succeeded byJustin Alfond
Personal details
Born (1967-10-19) October 19, 1967 (age 57)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Socialists of America[1]
SpouseMary Beeaker (former)
EducationJuilliard School
University of Maine, Orono (BA)
Harvard University (MEd)
WebsiteCampaign website

Ethan King Strimling (born October 19, 1967) is an American non-profit executive, television personality, and politician from Maine. Strimling was elected to 3 terms in the Maine Senate (2003–2009), one term a Mayor of Portland, Maine (2015–2019), serving one term. Strimling previously served as a Democratic state senator from 2003 to 2009. He was the Executive Director of LearningWorks, a West End non-profit organization, and has served as a political columnist and commentator for the Portland Press Herald.[2]

Early life

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Ethan Strimling was born and raised in New York City. His father, Arthur Strimling, was a Jewish theater director and midrashic story-maker based in Brooklyn. His mother was not Jewish but he was raised in Jewish culture.[3] He attended the Juilliard School for Theater from 1985 to 1987. He earned a B.A. in History from the University of Maine. He also earned a master's degree in Education from Harvard University in 1994.

After school, he went to Washington, D.C. to work as a legislative aide for then-First District Congressman Tom Andrews. He then came back to Maine to serve as State Senator Dale McCormick's Campaign Manager for her 1996 Congressional race.

Strimling began serving as the Executive Director of Portland West, a non-profit social-service agency that works with at-risk kids and low-income families in Portland's West End, in 1997. Strimling has also served on the boards of several political and non-profit committees, including Maine Won't Discriminate, Casinos NO!, and the Maine NAACP.

Political career

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Strimling's first run for public office was for the Portland City Council in 1999. He was defeated by incumbent Jack Dawson by just 24 votes. During a recount, the City Council awarded 35 disputed ballots to Strimling after his campaign argued that voters who filled in a blank line below his name had intended to vote for him. After the Council decided to preliminarily award Stimling the election longtime city councilor and former Mayor Cheryl A. Leeman commented "This is the worst example of politics that I've seen in my years in this chamber."[4] When Dawson appealed the decision to Maine Superior Court, Strimling announced that he would step aside and Dawson was awarded the council seat. During this race Strimling mistakenly took contributions in violation of Maine campaign finance law but commented "If I had known, I'd have complied" [5]

In 2002, Strimling ran his first campaign for the Maine State Senate to succeed Anne M. Rand. He was elected in his first race with 74% of the vote and again in 2004 with 76%. He was elected for a third term in 2006. In the State Senate, Strimling was the Chair of the Labor Committee and also a member of the Taxation Committee. He has also served as Chair of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, and in 2006, was Co-Chair of Maine's Homeland Security Task Force.

In 2008, when Democratic Congressman Tom Allen announced that he would challenge U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Strimling declared that he would run for Maine's 1st congressional district. In the June 10 Democratic primary, Strimling finished fourth with 5,833 votes (out of 55,382 votes cast).[6] He was succeeded in the Maine Senate by fellow Democrat Justin Alfond.

In February 2010, when Strimling was appointed to the New England board of the Anti-Defamation League, he became the first Maine resident to be appointed to the position.[7]

On July 26, 2011, Strimling formally announced he was running for Mayor of Portland.[8] Fellow former State Senator Michael F. Brennan won the election.[9]

Strimling and former Republican State Senator Phil Harriman wrote the "Agree to Disagree" column on the Bangor Daily News website,[10] which was named the "2013 Best State Political Blog" by The Washington Post. They are also political analysts for WCSH TV, working in tandem. On May 23, 2014, Strimling and Harriman wrote the last Daily News column and started writing their column for the Portland Press Herald on May 25. Strimling also is an analyst for WGAN radio.[11]

On August 18, 2015, Strimling announced his intention to launch a second campaign for Mayor of Portland in the 2015 election on November 3, 2015.[12] He won the race without needing an instant runoff, obtaining 51% of the vote. Incumbent Mayor Michael Brennan conceded the race at about 10 PM on election night.[13] [clarification needed]

Strimling announced his intention to seek a second term as Mayor in the 2019 Portland, Maine mayoral election on June 23, 2019.[14] Strimling lost to Kate Snyder.

After his tenure in City Hall ended, Strimling became active in the Maine branch of the Democratic Socialists of America.[1] In 2020, Strimling played a leading role in People First Portland, a campaign to pass five municipal ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, enact rent control, ban facial recognition surveillance, limit short term rentals, and a Green New Deal. Four out of five initiatives passed (only the short-term rentals limit failed) despite being outspent by the Portland business community and the opposition of Mayor Kate Snyder.[15]

In 2021 Strimling funded a push poll showing Maine Senate President Troy Jackson leading former governor Paul LePage in a hypothetical matchup in the 2022 Maine gubernatorial election with current Governor of Maine Janet Mills also polled against LePage.[16][17]

Personal life

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Strimling and Mary Beeaker were married from 2004 to 2017. In February 2016, The Bollard acknowledged Strimling’s affair with his campaign manager, Stephanie Clifford, who was also married.[18] The affair led to the end of both their marriages. He has no children and resides in Portland, Maine.[19][20]

Electoral results

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2008 U.S. House Democratic primary, 1st district of Maine
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Chellie Pingree 24,324 43.9
Democratic Adam Cote 15,706 28.3
Democratic Michael Brennan 6,040 10.9
Democratic Ethan Strimling 5,833 10.5
Democratic Mark Lawrence 2,726 4.9
Democratic Steve Meister 753 1.3
Total votes 55,382 100
Portland, Maine mayoral election, 2011
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Nonpartisan Michael Brennan 26.5 5,211 5,214 5,228 5,251 5,307 5,362 5,455 5,508 5,578 5,652 5,858 6,107 6,537 7,515 8,971
Nonpartisan Ethan Strimling 22.3 4,392 4,399 4,406 4,435 4,452 4,505 4,554 4,601 4,674 4,754 4,859 5,072 5,472 5,934 7,138
Nonpartisan Nicholas Mavodones 14.9 2,941 2,947 2,957 2,968 2,984 2,998 3,023 3,072 3,124 3,237 3,303 3,504 3,793 4,075  
Nonpartisan David Marshall 7.6 1,506 1,507 1,526 1,542 1,548 1,616 1,636 1,653 1,677 1,717 1,894 2,002 2,306    
Nonpartisan Jed Rathband 7.0 1,393 1,394 1,405 1,411 1,423 1,444 1,465 1,495 1,530 1,623 1,745 1,807      
Nonpartisan Jill Duson 4.2 839 840 858 867 879 898 922 948 960 989 1,049        
Nonpartisan Markos Miller 3.6 717 718 721 727 731 748 766 775 815 856          
Nonpartisan Richard Dodge 3.3 662 666 667 667 675 680 691 740 789            
Nonpartisan Christopher Vail 2.0 403 407 416 417 425 429 440 460              
Nonpartisan Peter Bryant 1.8 366 367 371 373 385 392 403                
Nonpartisan Ralph Carmona 1.6 316 317 320 324 339 344                  
Nonpartisan John Eder 1.3 274 275 278 291 298                    
Nonpartisan Charles Bragdon 1.1 218 220 223 226                      
Nonpartisan Hamza Haadoow 0.9 185 187 192                        
Nonpartisan Jodie Lapchick 0.6 130 130                          
Nonpartisan Write-in 0.4 81                            
Valid: 19,634   Spoilt: 578   Quota: {{{quota}}}   Turnout: 20,212  
Candidate Votes Votes %
Ethan Strimling 9,162 51.1
Michael Brennan 6,882 38.4
Thomas MacMillan 1,880 10.5
Total Votes 17,924 100
Portland, Maine mayoral election, 2019
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes %
Non-partisan Kate Snyder 7,119 39.33% + 458 7,577 42.08% + 2,883 10,460 61.89%
Non-partisan Spencer Thibodeau 5,110 28.23% + 164 5,274 29.29% + 1,168 6,442 38.11%
Non-partisan Ethan Strimling 4,575 25.28% + 580 5,155 28.63% - 5,155 Eliminated
Non-partisan Travis Curran 1,296 7.16% - 1,296 Eliminated
Total votes 16,902 100.0%

References

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  1. ^ a b Abramsky, Sasha (2023-11-15). "The People's Republic of Portland, Maine". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2023-12-07. For Strimling, though, the loss turned out to be liberating, allowing him to push for radical policy reforms from the grassroots up rather than the City Council down. No longer constrained by the dysfunctional city government, the ex-mayor threw in his lot with members of the local DSA branch and took his ideas about housing reform directly to the people.
  2. ^ "Portland Press Herald Contributors". Archived from the original on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  3. ^ Nussbaum-Cohen, Debra (16 October 2019). "Meet Ethan Strimling, the macher mayor of Portland, Maine". Jewish Insider.
  4. ^ Portland Press Herald 28 May 1999, Fri · Page 1
  5. ^ Journal Tribune28 Aug 1999, Sat · Page 8
  6. ^ "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections Division". Archived from the original on 2008-07-10.
  7. ^ Ethan Strimling: First Mainer Appointed to ADL New England Board Anti-Defamation League, February 23, 2010
  8. ^ Strimling to enter Portland mayor's race Portland Press Herald, July 25, 2011
  9. ^ "It's now Mayor Brennan - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram". The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram. 5 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Agree to Disagree".
  11. ^ "Agree to Disagree: Predicting election results – and stopping many readers' hearts". Maine Sunday Telegram. May 25, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  12. ^ "Strimling to announce run for Portland mayor". WCSH6.com. August 18, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Ethan Strimling elected mayor of Portland". Bangor Daily News. November 4, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  14. ^ "Portland's mayor launches re-election campaign". WCSH-6 TV. June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  15. ^ "$15 minimum wage, Green New Deal, rent control win in Portland". Maine Beacon. 4 November 2020.
  16. ^ "SurveyUSA Mkt Research Study #26081".
  17. ^ "Politics & Other Mistakes: That guy is running for what?! | the Portland Phoenix".
  18. ^ Busby, Chris (24 February 2016). "The Strimling Affair". The Bollard.
  19. ^ Randy Billings (2016-04-06). "Portland mayor and wife file divorce motions - Portland Press Herald". Press Herald. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  20. ^ "Politics other mistakes what you don't know". 10 March 2016.
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