2023 Portland, Maine mayoral election
The 2023 Portland, Maine mayoral election will be held on November 7, 2023, to elect the mayor of Portland, Maine. The election will be nonpartisan. Since 1923, municipal elections in Portland have not included formal partisan nominations. In September 2022, Mayor Kate Snyder announced that she would not seek re-election to a second term in office. Background 
Nomination papers for mayor, city council and school board were not available until June 30 and must be returned between August 14 and August 28. Mayoral elections in Portland are elected using instant-runoff voting, a form of ranked-choice voting that the city has used since 2011. Candidates

Official 
Pious Ali, at-large city councilor
Justin Costa, former city councilor
Mark Dion, city councilor, former state senator, former Cumberland County Sheriff, and candidate for governor in 2018 (Party affiliation: Democratic)
Dylan Pugh, software developer (Party affiliation: Democratic)
Andrew Zarro, city councilor, District 4 (Party affiliation: Democratic)

Declined 
Emily Figdor, member and former chair of the Portland Board of Education
Michael Kebede, former chair of the Portland Charter Commission
Kate Snyder, incumbent mayor (Party affiliation: Democratic)
 Ethan Strimling, former mayor (Party affiliation: Democratic)

Endorsements

Campaign
The major issues in the mayoral campaign included the ongoing housing crisis and homelessness crisis in the city. The 2023 point-in-time count noted 4,258 unhoused individuals, 25% of which were considered chronically homeless. Another issue discussed on the campaign trail was a rise in hate speech. Ali faced threats and harassment from the New England White Network, City Council meetings faced zoom bombing, and anti-semitic flyers were placed around the community on September 11. References 

2023 United States mayoral elections
2023
21st century in Portland, Maine
Non-partisan elections