Maine DSA – Kate Sykes for District Five

The District Five Insider is a newsletter about the big decisions making their way through the City Council, what they mean for District Five, and how you can get involved. Enter your email and click subscribe to receive this newsletter in your mailbox.

Tuesday April 15, 2025

ONE BIG THING: Portland Adopts Vision Zero

Last night, the Council took a major step toward protecting all Portlanders by unanimously passing the Vision Zero resolution, a commitment to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2045. This is a victory for anyone who walks, bikes, rides the bus, or simply crosses the street in our city.

What Happened

The Council unanimously approved a resolution endorsing the Greater Portland Council of Governments’ Vision Zero Action Plan. The plan prioritizes safety over speed; people over cars; and acknowledges that traffic deaths are preventable, not inevitable. It commits us to redesigning dangerous corridors, using crash data to target investments, and coordinating across departments to ensure every Portlander—regardless of age, income, ability, or neighborhood—can get around safely.

Why It Matters

We’ve seen a high number of recent pedestrian deaths in Portland—a tragic toll that reflects a transportation system designed for speed and convenience, not for human life. And let’s face it: the risks don’t fall on everyone equally. The less money you have, the more likely you are to walk, bike, or ride the bus. And the less protected you are in those modes, the higher your risk of injury or death. That’s not a coincidence; it’s a policy failure.

This resolution matters for the working-class people of Portland—for kids walking to school, for elders crossing Stevens Avenue, for transit riders navigating Forest Avenue before sunrise.

I’ve heard from many Portlanders who are ready for this change, including Erik in Deering Center:

“Our family gets around Portland by walking, biking, car and bus, and strongly supports Vision Zero… For me personally this means that my kids and I should be able to find a safe walking and biking route to any destination in the City.”

What Comes Next

The Sustainability and Transportation Committee will now begin work on a local implementation plan, identifying high-risk intersections, prioritizing low-speed street redesigns, and ensuring that vulnerable users are protected. Community members can and should stay involved to ensure this work keeps moving.

The Budget Crisis and the Cost of Disinvestment

Last night, the City Manager submitted her FY26 budget proposal to the Council, which includes a 6.2% citywide tax increase, driven largely by the state’s refusal to fully reimburse us for General Assistance (GA) and shelter beds. These are services that Portland provides not only for our residents, but for people from across the region. We’ve built the Homeless Services Center (HSC)—a facility unmatched anywhere else in Maine—to meet a crisis head-on, with compassion and coordination. But now the state is walking away from its share of the cost.

Meanwhile, Cumberland County has not funded jail-based addiction treatment at the level we need it to, leaving our police and our community with no clear path from crisis to recovery. Officers arrest people in crisis only to see them back on the street days later, still suffering—not because anyone failed to do their job, but because the system stops short of care. That’s not on our police. That’s a failure of county investment.

The impacts of this disinvestment ripple far beyond GA. When we’re forced to fill the state’s gap, it comes out of our core services, like public safety, youth programs, parks and street repair. Already, we are falling behind regionally on police and fire department salaries, losing workers to neighboring towns, and watching morale decline. These are the broader costs of austerity that don’t make headlines.

A budget is not just a spreadsheet. It’s a statement about what kind of city we’re being asked to become—and who’s being asked to sacrifice. There will be opportunities to organize and push back. For now, let’s name the truth: Portland has stepped up again and again to do what’s right. But we cannot keep doing it alone.

HEDC Meets Tonight on Workers’ Rights and Housing Justice

The Housing and Economic Development Committee meets tonight to discuss a series of proposals that could reshape housing and labor protections in Portland:

Minimum Wage Referendum: A proposal to let voters decide whether to raise the minimum wage for Portland workers. With the cost of living soaring, a real living wage is a critical tool to prevent homelessness and economic displacement.
Hotel Inclusionary Zoning: A long-overdue policy revision to ensure hotel developments deliver affordable housing for their workforce—not just more corporate profits.
Vacancy Ordinance: A proposal to require owners of empty storefronts to register and maintain them, making it harder for speculators to sit on housing stock while people sleep outside.

PET OF THE WEEK: Meet Archie

We had a very special guest at last night’s meeting: Nine-week-old Archie, the Portland Police Department’s new comfort dog, stopped by City Hall and instantly became a crowd favorite.

Archie is part of a growing effort to bring trauma-informed practices into public safety. He’s here to support community members and first responders alike—and remind us all that a little softness can go a long way.

ksykes@portlandmaine.gov 207-558-5764

Notice: Under Maine law, documents – including e-mails and text messages – in the possession of public officials or city employees about government business may be classified as public records. There are very few exceptions. As a result, please be advised that what is written in a text message or e-mail could be released to the public and/or the media if requested.

Tuesday March 18, 2025

One Big (HUGE!) Thing: City Council Approves Social Housing Task Force

Last night, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to establish a Mayoral Task Force to study and recommend a public-led social housing program, a decisive and historic step toward building Portland’s future.

For me, this moment is deeply meaningful. When I ran for City Council in 2023, social housing was the central plank of my campaign platform. I heard from residents across the district who called for bold solutions to the housing crisis, and who understood that relying solely on private development and non-profits wasn’t enough to meet the scale of our need. Now, after a year of steady groundwork, we are moving forward.

Why This Matters

The truth is, Portland has very little power to control how much affordable housing actually gets built. In the past four years, the City Council has approved 16 applications for affordable housing developments using public subsidies. Only three of those projects have made it to construction, and just two have opened their doors. The rest are still waiting in line, often for years, for MaineHousing to fund them.

City staff and councilors spend significant meeting and staff time, and public resources and tax dollars reviewing and underwriting these applications, only for many to fall through due to delays, waitlists, and spiraling construction costs. This is not a criticism of the developers themselves; many are doing their best under a broken system, but we must recognize that this system is failing us.

That is why we need public leadership in housing. Social housing gives us the power to build at scale, to address the “missing middle,” to ensure long-term affordability, and to steward public funds more efficiently by keeping the value of what we build in the hands of the people. Social Housing is just like owning a home versus renting one: when you own, every dollar you invest in maintenance, improvements, or paying down the mortgage builds equity that stays with you and your family. When you rent, that value flows to someone else.

Right now, we are effectively renting housing from Wall Street, pouring public money into a system that transfers value to banks and corporate investors. With social housing, the public owns the asset, and the value it generates, which can be reinvested into more housing and stronger communities.

What’s Next

The Social Housing Task Force will begin its work as soon as members are appointed. The application process will move quickly and will follow the same process used to appoint members to city boards and committees, beginning with the City Clerk’s Office and landing on the agenda of the Legislative and Nominating Committee.

We are looking for residents from all walks of life who want to help shape Portland’s housing future. Members of the public will be chosen to represent backgrounds in housing development, architecture, public finance, labor, climate policy, legal services, and community advocacy. Per Councilor April Fournier’s amendment, which passed unanimously last night, the task force will also include at least two members from underserved populations with lived experience navigating Portland’s housing market. Seats will also include: two City Councilors; a representative from the Planning Board; a member of the Economic Development Committee; city staff with expertise in housing, finance, and planning.

This is an exciting opportunity for residents to engage in transformational work to help envision and design the kind of housing system that can support a thriving economy, a strong labor market, and a more equitable Portland for generations to come.

Portland First: The City Maine Needs to Lead

As Maine’s largest city, Portland has a responsibility to build the bulk of the housing our state desperately needs. We have the infrastructure, public services, transit, and walkability to support smart, sustainable growth. If we don’t build here, growth will spill into surrounding towns, leading to sprawl, traffic congestion, and environmental degradation—outcomes that make life harder for everyone.

The data is stark: Since 1970, Portland’s population has grown just 5%, while Cumberland County has grown 61%. If Portland had kept pace, we would be over 100,000 people today. Instead, growth has leapfrogged us, pushing working families and young people out of the city and straining our region’s resources.

Social housing gives us the tools to reverse this trend. By building the housing Portland needs—right here, where the infrastructure already exists—we can help protect Maine’s natural resources from sprawl and overdevelopment. Portland has always been the heart of Maine’s economy; by growing responsibly and equitably, we can support the entire state while preserving the landscapes and communities that make Maine special.

Let’s Build It Together

This is a moment for optimism and action. Portland’s spirit is captured in one word: Resurgam, “I shall rise again,” which is cast into the metalwork of the gates at City Hall, a lasting symbol of our city’s resilience after the Great Fire of 1866.

We are a city that knows how to rebuild, not just from fire, but from every challenge we’ve faced. We know the value of hard work, collective effort, and laying a strong foundation for future generations. Social housing is our opportunity to carry that legacy forward, to build not just homes, but a stronger, fairer city where everyone can thrive.

The task force application process will begin soon, and I’ll be keeping residents updated on its progress through this newsletter. If you’re interested in applying or want to learn more, reach out anytime. This is your chance to help shape Portland’s housing future, one that complements our zoning reforms, supports a strong labor market, and brings us into a new era of prosperity, livability, and resilience.

If you’re interested in applying, or if you have questions, reach out to me anytime. I’m happy to talk about the process and what the task force will entail.

You can also read more about social housing in my article for Pine and Roses.