LATEST NEWS:
Fair Elections Portland asks City Council to Honor the Will of the Voters and Place the Clean Elections Charter Amendment on the Ballot,10/18/2021
Fair Elections Portland (FEP) is asking the City Council to end the
controversy over local Clean Elections by placing the certified charter amendment
before the voters. The charter amendment was approved for ballot placement in August 2019 but has
been tied up in litigation following the City’s decision not to place the measure on the
ballot. A Supreme Court decision in June 2021 found that the City had no factual basis in
the record for its decision not to follow state law on charter amendments. The Court
also found that it saw nothing on the face of the charter amendment proposal that
would require a charter commission. “If the City Council continues down this path, it will make the power of the citizens
weaker than we ever imagined, and the power of unelected administrators will be far
stronger,” said Anna Kellar, President of Fair Elections Portland. “We ask the Council to
seize this opportunity and honor the will of 6,816 voters who supported Clean Elections
with their signatures by putting this measure back on track.”
Through the end of October, the Charter Commission will work at the committee level. Five committees — Governance, Education, Elections, Departments, and Procedures — will be drawing up recommended changes to the City Charter to bring before the full Commission.
Committee meetings are held biweekly over Zoom, and are open to the public. Check out the Portland Area chapter of the League of Women Voters of Maine's page for updates and more info: lwvme.org/CharterCommission.
