Jobs and Economic Development
Get back on track. Successful economic development requires vision, cooperation, follow-through and accountability, but all of these have been lacking in recent years. Under Mayor Ed Suslovic’s leadership, Bayside redevelopment is falling apart, vital East End projects have ground to a halt and the City is releasing the developer of the Maine State Pier from over $13 million in promises it made in its final bid, at a time when property taxes and heating costs are driving many of us out of our homes.
Help small businesses thrive. We also need to strengthen our small businesses. As a successful small business owner, I know that small businesses often lack a voice in the direction of the City, yet they reinvest their profits in the community at much higher rates than larger businesses, and make Portland a more attractive place to live and to visit.
Attract large employers. We also need to attract larger employers. This is largely a matter of better marketing and making it easier for people who work in Portland to live here. At least one major employer rejected Portland as a headquarters location because housing was too expensive for employees.
Education. Our most important economic development investment is our education system. Our children are our greatest treasure, and we cannot attract businesses and families if we do not maintain the high quality of our schools. (Read more)
Preserve and modernize our working waterfront. We need to think in a comprehensive way about our waterfront’s future. It is vital to preserve our working waterfront, which is an increasingly scarce resource on Maine’s coast. I am willing to consider whether limited commercial development on private piers is consistent with this priority, but I do not feel that the City’s actions on the Maine State Pier in any way obligate it to permit similar actions on private piers. The question is what policy best serves Portland’s people and its economy. If marine use is declining, I think that could be reversed through better planning and promotion. If container traffic is grinding to a halt, we need to collaborate with other Maine stakeholders to foster manufacturing and other activities that will reignite it. In all the decisions we make, we have to remember that any surrender of working waterfront to commercial or residential development tends to be permanent.
As for the Maine State Pier itself, I oppose the most recent proposal, which allows the developer to spend $13 million less in infrastructure investment and lease payments that was promised in its final bid. I fear that the numerous unrealistic assumptions in the term sheet will mean that the developer will extract even more concessions at the taxpayers’ expense as the years go by.
Historic Preservation. The City needs to do more to preserve and celebrate our history. Not only does historic preservation in Portland build community and foster cultural values – it makes Portland a more attractive place to live, visit and do business. The Brookings Report emphasizes the importance of historic preservation in strengthening Maine’s brand as a place with high quality of life. Portland’s history is not confined to the Old Port, and I would support creation of the Congress Street Preservation District.
Parks and public spaces. Portland has done well creating and maintaining its parks and public spaces. We must not lose sight of this priority as we cut budgets and merge departments.
Fostering the creative economy. Portland’s natural and cultural assets have attracted a growing creative economy, and we need to ensure that artists, arts organizations, creative businesses and other drivers of that economy continue to thrive. I’ve made my own contribution to this effort by organizing the Black Frame Art Sale in the Bayside neighborhood for the last several years.
Modernizing the Civic Center. I support ambitious redevelopment of the Civic Center district, though I doubt it makes economic sense for Portland to finance such redevelopment on its own. The Civic Center is a regional asset and the county and state must contribute as well. There is no doubt that a world-class convention center and performance venue would be an economic boon to Portland, and that will be hard to create through mere renovation.
Rationalizing the development approval process. I support changes to the process that would make it more efficient and transparent, while preserving public input and Planning Board oversight. (Read more about my approach to this process.)
Vision for Bayside/East End redevelopment. The plans for redeveloping the Bayside community are a model for urban planning, emphasizing mixed use, housing density, walkability and socioeconomic diversity, but the current council is squandering the extraordinary work the community put into forging that vision. The city must complete the work of removing the heavies industrial uses from the neighborhood, if redevelopment is to succeed. Again the City needs to follow through and make sure developers complete the major projects planned on former City land.
Making Portland a more livable City. We need to encourage development patterns that support public transportation, walking and biking. We need to require developers to account for traffic and other impacts their developments cause, and ensure that they alleviate them or provide resources for the City to alleviate them. The City must reduce its carbon footprint and do everything possible to ensure that policies reflect the importance of environmental sustainability and public health. We must maximize utilization of public transit, working with neighboring towns and other stakeholders to maximize the impact of our transit investments.
Keeping Portland affordable. Together, we must grow an affordable housing market, strengthen public transportation, stabilize taxes and expand efforts to help residents lower heating costs, so families don't have to struggle to make ends meet. (Read more)