Wes Pelletier, a longtime member of the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (Maine DSA) was elected to the Portland City Council on Tuesday, making him the second democratic socialist who will be serving on the city’s nine-member policymaking body.
Pelletier’s win in Portland’s 2nd District came after a ranked-choice runoff against second-place Nancy English. Having received a plurality of the votes in the first round of voting, Pelletier eventually clinched the tabulation over English with 53.1 percent, according to unofficial results published by the city.
He will join District 5 City Councilor Kate Sykes, the former co-chair of Maine DSA, as the second democratic socialist on the Portland City Council.
The national DSA put out a statement on X Wednesday congratulating Pelletier on his victory.
“A former chapter co-chair, Wes has been a member of DSA for close to a decade where he has fought to bolster rent control in Portland to take on an unprecedented housing crisis,” the DSA wrote.
According to Pelletier’s campaign site, he has served in various roles in the Maine DSA since 2018.
Maine DSA has been behind several initiatives related to rent control and minimum wage referenda in recent elections.
In November of last year, former Portland Mayor Kate Snyder described the influence of the Maine DSA on the city’s political landscape as “very real, and very powerful.”
“I think the national platform of the Democratic Socialists of America has really taken hold in Portland, Maine,” Snyder told WGAN Morning News host Matt Gagnon. “And there are many people who are very receptive to the message and who have taken on that mantle, and who are moving that national agenda forward in our small city.”
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="32338 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=32338">11 Comments
Buh bye jobs and businesses in Ptld.
Hello higher taxes.
Ranked Choice Voting needs to be repealed .
Lets vote this scam out .
And it IS a scam .
Pelletier is another creepy socialist who apparently loves and protects pets, but I’ll bet he wouldn’t hesitate to abort an unborn baby.
As a Portland, ME native, I have watched this city run by Democrats decline over decades. If it weren’t geographically appealing there wouldn’t be any redeeming qualities to it. The same goes with much of the State.
Another step down the tubs.
https://www.historynet.com/splitting-states/
History has a lot to teach us here. Though, slavery has been abolished long ago, it’s simply morphed into something else today. Maybe Northern Maine should start talking about seccesion before too many more socialists creep into other city councils. I, for one, am tired of the filth dictated by SOME in southern Maine.
Single cat lady.
I do not go to Portland, who cares.
I am with Sandy, I don’t go to Portland at all any more. The homeless, illegal aliens, needles, urine and feces remind me of San Francisco. Lewiston is heading in the same direction and their downward spiral started with the illegal aliens, they were on their way to prosperity and now its mimicking Portland. DemocRAT-Communists only know how to destroy not create and rebuild where needed. You get what you vote for!!!!
As if Portland didn’t have enough Marxist and socialist democrats on their council. This is not a voice for sanity. How did we reach such a point where the inmates are running the insane asylum?
Wtf…. portland will turn Into a waste land like California!!! They want rent control huh, well someone should tell these idiots that higher taxes and higher property taxes and more bureaucracy raises rents! For business as well !
Nothing a good ol dose of McCarthyism cant fix.