Campaign Kickoff Speech
Filed under: Campaign Trail, Videos
Carmona for Mayor Announcement
Filed under: Articles by Ralph Carmona, Campaign Trail
My name is Ralph Carmona and I want to be the next Mayor of Portland.
I spent the last year talking with Portland people, like many in this room.
I got active in last November’s election campaigns.
I listened to Portland voters.
I listened to candidates running for local, state and federal elected offices.
Walking around this great city, I listened to leaders from many perspectives; for example, I talked with Nicola Wells of the Maine League of Young Voters as well Chris Hall at the Portland Chamber of Commerce.
Then there were the ideas of those in higher education leaders and from a Portland Future project I developed with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).
Rooted in faith, I got active as an usher and member at Portland First Parish, became active with civil rights and joined some of my OLLI students to learn Portland history by becoming a certified Portland History Docent.
Much of this drive comes from having worked in large companies and small institutions that have made a difference for people, businesses and communities.
My wife, Vana and I are moved that many of you share the love that we have for Portland. Like most of you in Portland who have come from away, we chose to make Portland our home. We are here for good. And we are here because we want a “Portland on the Rise” .
Now, here is a question for you. We live in uncertain times. People need jobs. We face increasing local taxes. Is that acceptable to you?
Most people want a “Portland on the Rise”. And that is the theme for the Carmona for Mayor campaign.
It means you want to elect, on November 8, a full-time mayor who will work to put Portland on the Rise.
It means we need a mayor who is experienced, who can bring us together on the issues of the day.
You are interested in a mayor who will foster economic growth, promotes quality of life issues, and, most of all, we need a mayor who listens and gets things done.
We want to continue to build a city rooted in small business-driven expertise.
We want to continue to build a city of original ideas and efficient services.
A city that will promote our unique culture, an education that builds on our culture.
And, of course, we want a Portland that expands our reputation as a premiere art and food city.
I know that I can get Portland to realize her possibilities. And, as mayor, I will tap a Portland vitality that is waiting “to rise.”
Like Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert, many of you see Portland at a crucial crossroads on issues facing Urban America. Now, what are these issues?
First, there are those who are young who fear a jobless Portland future.
Second, leaders involved in business, civic and environmental affairs, see a fragmented city process. The want meaningful access and decisions. Many people feel they are getting gibberish instead.
They want to see, in the words of that great historian, Arthur Schlesinger, a Portland mayor like a commander at sea, “with a helm to grasp, a course to steer and a port to seek.”
I believe Portland can be “on the rise” and I can steer her to that proper port.
From now until November 8, I will reach out to talk about three areas of concern to Portland:
First concern: Livable wages, more jobs, and sustainable economic growth. I will seek how best to leverage Portland’s diverse and competitive assets in ways that will increase revenues and wages while avoiding tax increases.
Second concern: quality of our life. I had a conversation with a Portland woman who referred to Portland as a “city of joy.” And she is right: a joyful city is a successful city.
Forbes magazine agrees with her. Forbes has declared Portland America’s most livable city. As mayor, I will work to build on that excellence for a Portland on the Rise.
This is because quality of life involves my pledge to elevate the greatest investment we can make, which is in our human capital: The education, health and welfare of us in Portland — as well as our physical capital of public transportation, walkable neighborhoods and a greener infrastructure.
Also, quality of life means maintaining our high safety standards, making creative our increasing diversity, and keeping Portland clean and welcoming.
Third concern: Is our need for a mayor who is openly responsive.
As mayor, I will need your ideas and welcome your reviews and challenges so that we can do what is best for Portland.
I will be a mayor who is viscerally grounded in the reality that Portland is Maine’s economic engine. And I will be Portland’s chief lobbyist in Augusta and Washington.
I believe in E Pluribus Unum – out of many, we are one. With the right leadership, we can come together, in an open and fiscally responsible fashion, and get “Portland on the Rise” by steering her to a better harbor.
Mayoral leadership is like our Portland’s trails. There are no straight lines. But our trails, like our neighborhoods, connect and link people and places. Acting as a “People on the Rise”, we will make what is good today into a leadring light house for America’s urban future.
So, what does Portland need?
First: increased economic growth
Second: enhanced quality of life
Three: expected open and responsive leadership
I will be an around-the-clock mayor who will take the time, energy, and listen — to do what’s right and learn from mistakes.
My name is Ralph Carmona.
I ask you to vote for me on November 8.
Thank you all for being here! Good day and good luck. Together, we can put “Portland on the Rise”.
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Carmona for Mayor
P.O. Box 15111
Portland, ME 04112-
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