Vote or Quit Bitchin’ 2007
Local election coverage
Voters’ Guide: Portland City Council District 3
Four candidates vie for one seat
By Chris Busby
Let’s be frank: Dr. Donna Carr’s one-term tenure on the Portland City Council has been underwhelming. The Unum executive has held no major committee posts, spearheaded no big initiatives, and made few waves. She speaks briefly and infrequently during Council meetings, often seems flustered, and has exerted little influence over her colleagues. When Carr has dug into an issue, she’s tended to dig herself into a hole.
Take the squabble this past year over the location of a new skate park in her district (District 3 includes the Libbytown, Stroudwater, Rosemont and Sagamore Village neighborhoods). Pressed by a small group of vocal constituents opposed to putting the park on some long-abandoned, overgrown tennis courts near West School, Carr pursued an alternative that involved pouring concrete over a grassy field along Back Cove where youth soccer teams regularly practice. She even had soil tests done. But as the folly of this alternative became obvious, Carr backed down and voted with the rest of the Council for the original site.
Then there’s the infamous “Carr Amendment,” her swing vote last November to enact ill-considered limits on so-called “formula” businesses in parts of downtown, and then appoint a study group to figure out what limits make sense.
Health problems and work-related scheduling conflicts apparently convinced Carr not to seek a second term, though she vowed last summer to get on the ballot regardless of her intention to run (her name will not appear on the ballot). District 3 has produced more than its share of strong councilors in recent years – Jim Cloutier, Nick Mavodones, Ed Suslovic, and Carr’s predecessor, Nathan Smith, among them – but Carr’s exit leaves relatively small shoes to fill. This seat is anyone’s for the taking.
Carr’s anointed successor is Dick Farnsworth, an old friend and fellow Democrat who served a term in the state House in the late 1990s. (That’s the Maine House of Representatives, not prison.) Just as Carr won’t leave much of a mark on Portland, Farnsworth didn’t stand out during his two years in Augusta. In 1998, he narrowly lost his reelection bid to Democratic primary opponent John McDonough, who went on to take the House seat unopposed.
For the past 15 years, Farnsworth, 67, has served as the executive director of Woodfords Family Services, a well-established nonprofit that helps people with special needs. His bio includes membership on the Stroudwater Village Association Board of Trustees and two Jetport planning committees. Thoughtful, reserved, and a tad old fashioned (he uses words like “kerfuffle” and “wild and woolly”), the married father and grandfather is the most down-to-earth of the three Dems in this race.
Granted, most people on the planet are more down-to-earth than challenger Tony Donovan. A high-energy, hot-tempered commercial real estate broker in his early 50s, Donovan has been a fierce and frequent critic of city government. The formula business ordinance his district councilor briefly put on the books set him off like a pack of firecrackers. His threat to lead a citizen-initiated campaign to repeal the law only failed to materialize because the Council itself repealed it three months later.
Donovan grew up in Connecticut and summered here on Long Island (where he still has a summer home). He moved to Portland after high school, started a construction company, became a licensed real estate agent, and eventually earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Southern Maine (the latter a master’s in public policy from the Muskie School). He worked in the city’s Department of Economic Development for a couple years in the late 1990s, and currently serves on the boards of Portland Trails and the Portland Taxpayers Association.
The Portland Community Chamber has endorsed Donovan, who may rub shoulders with a Republican crowd, but is proudly registered Democrat.
The other Dem is Dan Skolnik, a 39-year-old attorney whose stated specialties are “criminal defense, civil rights, and contracts.” On his campaign Web site, danforcouncil.org, Skolnik states that he “[earned] his law degree in San Francisco eight months after September 11th, 2001, [and] works to defend the constitutional liberties eroded since that day.”
In the meantime, he’s also managed a couple local jam bands (Tribe Describe, Five Foot Ficus). Skolnik told The Bollard that band management is his ultimate goal – lawyering just pays better. His most high-profile civil case thus far was when he represented The Alehouse in the Old Port bar and rock club’s final – and ultimately fatal – legal battle with landlord Eric Cianchette.
For a first-time candidate, Skolnik spouts slogans, soundbites, and not-so-sly partisan snipes with remarkable frequency and ease. For example, in response to our first voters’ guide question about the future of the Maine State Pier, he sent a zinger in the direction of Green Councilors Dave Marshall and Kevin Donoghue, implying that their opposition to Ocean Properties’ plan, which Skolnik supports*, is “more about building a new party than building a new pier.”
Skolnik served briefly on the Portland Police Department’s citizen review committee – he said he recently resigned to run for Council – and serves on the board of the St. Lawrence Arts & Community Center. He’s a member of the Portland chapter of The League (formerly the League of Pissed Off Voters), which endorsed him, and he’s also picked up endorsements from Councilor Jill Duson and State Senator/Congressional candidate Ethan Strimling.
The wild card in this race is Capt. Bill Linnell, a former Cape Elizabeth Town Councilor who makes his living captaining tow boats, lobstering, and substitute teaching at the juvenile corrections facility in South Portland. The 52-year-old captain said he’s been “living in sin” with his girlfriend of 19 years – currently on outer Congress Street – and has no kids.
Linnell is a registered Green, and that could be his ticket to City Hall should the three Democrats split the party vote between them. It wouldn’t be the first time this heavily Democratic district elected a Green to municipal office. Three years ago, a scrappy, 22-year-old USM student won the District 3 school board seat. His name, of course, is Jason Toothaker.
Donovan was reached by cell phone twice to participate in this voters’ guide, but failed to follow up for the interview before the deadline. The other three candidates’ answers have been edited for brevity and clarity, as appropriate. Donovan’s position, in cases where it is known, has been noted.
How would you proceed with the Maine State Pier?
Tony Donovan: Is on record supporting Ocean Properties’ proposal.
Dick Farnsworth: “Immediately initiate an additional RFP [request for proposals] to deal with the megapier, or whatever the official name is for [the megaberth]… To be quite honest, someone should have thought of that two years ago… But we need to get on the road as far as the Maine State Pier is concerned and make a decision on that.”
Bill Linnell: “I would rewrite the RFP to include the megaberth and any other important issues that might be brought up. Then I would put it back out there for at least three, and ideally six months, in hopes of attracting some other bidders, such as Cianbro.”
Dan Skolnik: Supports Ocean Properties’ proposal due to the company’s “financial capacity” to complete the project. “I don’t like siding with big money on the basis of big money, but I think it’s the right thing to do in this situation.”
If the city allows hotels, office buildings and other non-marine uses on its public waterfront land, should it allow the same on privately owned waterfront property?
Farnsworth: Said the city should “allow additional development without crowding out the potential for the fishing industry” to recover and have sufficient waterfront access available.
Linnell: “In fairness, yes, but I don’t want to see that… I don’t want to see the harbor filled in with condos and hotels. The fish are coming back. If we want to save the working waterfront, we need to be patient and give a few more years for these marine industries to bounce back.”
Skolnik: Yes. “Unfortunately, maximizing the potential of the Portland waterfront as an economic engine for Maine is not possible if it’s limited to marine businesses.”
Should restaurant and bar owners pay higher taxes or fees to support increased police coverage?
Farnsworth: Notes that his son, Ian, owns Slainte, a bar and lounge on Preble Street. Opposes additional taxes or fees beyond fees paid to Portland’s Downtown District.
Linnell: Yes.
Skolnik: Yes. Supported the citywide fee increase recommended by the Old Port Nightlife Task Force as being “the least-worse solution” in a situation where there is “no good solution.”
Should chain or franchise businesses be limited?
Farnsworth: No. “My feeling is, the market’s going to do what the market’s going to do.”
Linnell: No, but said the city should encourage the continued success of unique local businesses.
Skolnik: Yes. “This is the single most important issue to me. This is why I’m running for City Council.” Favors citywide limits on chains and franchises with “hundreds of locations, not 10.” Added, “My friend Tony Donovan would say only the market should decide. Survival of the fittest is a good way to run a jungle. It’s not a good way to run Portland’s economy.”
Do you support forming a charter commission next fall to consider changes like instituting an elected mayor?
Farnsworth: “I’m really ambivalent about it.”
Linnell: “I really don’t know.”
Skolnik: Yes.
How would you reduce property taxes?
Farnsworth: Pursue “appropriate economic development to increase the tax base while you keep control of expenditures… The other option is to drastically reduce services, [but] I think that would create a considerable howl in the city of Portland.”
Linnell: Cut spending; limit tax breaks and other deals for “big business, such as down at the pier,” to situations that benefit new businesses or revitalize underdeveloped areas.
Skolnik: “We need a strong, thriving local business environment.” Promote greater participation in the state “circuit breaker” property tax rebate program.
Should the city close Clifford school and use state money to build a new elementary school?
Donovan: Voiced support for renovating Clifford in an Aug. 30 campaign blog entry.
Farnsworth: Yes. “[W]hen you’re looking down the barrel of $18 million [in state funding] that may not be there if you don’t take a step to build a new school, you may not have a choice. Not that I’m happy with that, but it is a reality.”
Linnell: No. “I don’t want to give up on Clifford school yet.”
Skolnik: “I don’t know, you don’t know, nobody knows the best answer [because] we don’t have the information we need. I’m open to the idea the school should close, but need more information. We’re putting the cart before the horse… Some members of the 3×3 committee have been engaging in public hearings, but not public listenings.”
Is it appropriate for the City Council to formally weigh in on national issues through official resolutions?
Farnsworth: “I suppose I’ll be considered a curmudgeon, but I think there’s too much happening in the city to spend time on that.”
Linnell: “I think we should do that very sparingly. We need to pay attention to our own sandbox, for the most part.”
Skolnik: “Absolutely… I endorse providing a public forum at the Council forum on any national issue.”BONUS QUESTION: Would you support the establishment of a free and independent City of Portinsula?
Farnsworth: “I don’t have any choice – I’m a mainlander by district.”
Linnell: No. “I’d stick with Abraham Lincoln on that one.”
Skolnik: “I think it’s a great joke, but I think we need to look for ways to be one community.”
*Clarification: In the original post of this article, Skolnik was said to “enthusiastically” support Ocean Properties’ plan. Though Skolnik is enthusiastic when discussing city issues in general, his support of OP’s plan, as reflected in his answer to our question about the Maine State Pier, does not justify the use of that adverb, which has been removed. – Ed.
