MARK DION
Portland's Next Mayor
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Thank You For Voting Portland!
I am proud to be your Mayor - Elect
Mark Dion in the News
Experienced Leadership
City Councilor
State Senator
State Representative
USM, Bachelor of Arts/Criminology
Antioch New England, Masters Degree in Human Services Administration
Harvard University, JFK School, Senior Executive Program in State and Local Government
University of Maine School of Law – Juris Doctorate
15 Years of Practicing Law
12 years as County Sheriff
Portland Deputy Police Chief
Safety is a city's first priority.
General Safety
Public Safety must respond to public disorder.
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As Mayor, I will do all I can to ensure that our police department have the staff and resources to meet the expectations we all have for safe neighborhoods, safe workplaces, and safe public parks.
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As Mayor, I will make the case to prosecutors, legislators, and Council members that those that break the rules must be held accountable for their conduct. Anything less is not fair to those who do. Excusing and failing to confront public behaviors that intimidate, threaten or harm us erodes our sense of community safety.
Safety in Schools
As Mayor, I want a community where everyone is included and valued. To do so we must fully commit to supporting our children and the needs of our classroom teachers. The best crime prevention program is reflected in the human and financial investment we choose to make in our public schools.
I will seek a new partnership with parents and school leaders to renew a role for our police department. Our children deserve more than policy protocols for lock downs. Our children and teachers deserve a visible presence that can react immediately to threats or unforeseen disaster. No one’s safety should be measured by a yardstick and left to wonder how quick will officers arrive.
Improving Public Health for Safety
As Mayor, I will act to end the cycle of self-harm that substance use disorder and untreated mental health illness presents to the individual and our community as a whole. We need to encourage the creation of low barrier recovery homes where residents can receive medication assisted treatment to restore individual dignity and bring stability into their lives. Living in a tent is not a safe solution to homelessness or a viable health strategy that will yield individual recovery and a person’s capacity to successfully manage their life.
What Are You Voting For?
Affordability for Portlanders
The cost of Housing is and will likely remain a challenge for the foreseeable future. Portland housing permit approvals average almost 400 units a year and we are not meeting the need that exists. We can do better.
Permits
Construction requires city permits. The speed which a permit can be issued dramatically effects the balance price of a housing unit. This process is adding unneeded additional costs to current and future projects.
As Mayor, I will seek a reform of our permit approval process and inspection processes to accelerate the timeline from permit application to project occupancy reducing construction costs and expediting the process for homeowners and businesses.
Financing
Housing requires financing terms that can “pencil out”. Developers can’t build or renovate more than they can afford.
As Mayor, I will seek Council support to restructure the Jill Duson Housing Trust to provide more flexibility in how the City can make investments in financing housing proposals that will serve the needs of our young families.
Partnerships
We need to refocus our efforts from trying to control a profit market to building housing for low income households and elderly residents of our City. Our first responsibility should be to those who have been pushed to the side by the reality of our current housing economy.
As Mayor, I will seek to become an active partner with the non-profit housing organizations so they can act to expand the density and quality of the housing units that can be built on their existing properties.
Zoning/ReCode
Portland has begun a process to re-assess the rules for how the Planning Board and City Council will decide the where, why and how we build what we do on private, public and commercial properties. The Re Code process will revise the way we make decisions about land use throughout the City.
As Mayor, I will take action to protect the voices of our neighbors in their efforts to preserve the unique characteristic of their neighborhood and shape the revisions to the planning code and what it will mean for them, their homes and businesses.
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Mark Dion is a highly respected and dedicated public servant and should be Portland's next mayor.
His diverse and long history of public service to Portland – City Councilor, State Senator, State Representative, Deputy Police Chief, and County Sheriff. This deep, broad leadership experience is unmatched among the other candidates. Maine’s largest city deserves someone who can “hit the ground running” with confidence, collaborative skills and sound common sense.
His fifteen years practicing law will help him guide the City Council. Navigating enormously complex issues and policy questions requires someone to speak out firmly while others sit back and wait to follow or find it easier to simply remain silent.
The history of Portland’s neighborhoods and residents’ desire for a safe, high quality of life in the places we live, work and play. Portland is at a crossroads as our current elected officials struggle with providing affordable housing as well as handling homelessness and social, economic, and financial issues.