Mayor Strim: Start Local, Swing Harder - Progressive Gains through Direct Democracy and Organizing

Trickle-Down Socialism

Pat interviews Former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling (Mayor Strim) about People First Portland, Maine DSA, and his experience running a small city. Mayor Strim explains why Portland is so welcoming to immigrants, regardless of immigration status, and why welcoming immigrants has been to the benefit of the economy and the overall health of the city. While Portland is a Progressive city, the structure of the city government was directly affected by the Portland Chamber of Commerce and the Ku Klux Klan and xenophobia directed at Irish Catholic immigrants in the 1920s. Mayor Strim recounts the challenges he faced as mayor and the difficulty of being mayor in a city that has an unelected city manager who has executive power.

When Mayor Strim left office, he engaged with Southern Maine DSA (Now Maine DSA) to work on electoral strategy. In concert with DSA and People First Portland, Mayor Strim helped get a slew of Progressive measures on the 2020 ballot: a local Green New Deal, a $15 an hour minimum wage, Rent Control, and a ban on Facial Surveillance technology. The ballot measure passed with an average of 60% of the vote.

In the open, Dan, CMoney, and Pat discuss this type of direct democracy, some quirks of Portland politics, NIMBYism, and the Universal Pre-K that is included in Biden's American Families Plan, which has yet to pass both houses of Congress. A slightly new format is used in this episode, with no interview debrief.

If you're interested in supporting People First Portland, you can learn more here: https://peoplefirstportland.me/

For Maine DSA: https://www.smdsa.org/

Follow Mayor Strim on Twitter: @mayorstrim

The TDS Podcast is mixed and mastered by C Money Burns at Cosmic Black in Portland, Maine. For inquiries on audio production, mixing, mastering and post for podcasts and music, please contact [e-mail] or say "hi" on Twitter @cmoneyburns.

Direct Democracy, Socialism, Democratic Socialism, Democratic Socialists of America, Maine DSA, People First Portland, Mayor Strim, Ban Facial Surveillance Technology, Housing, Rent Control, Limit Air BnB, Green New Deal, Progressive City, Sanctuary City, Fight for $15, Housing First, KKK, Xenophobia, Ku Klux Klan in the North, Irish Catholic Immigrants, Strong Mayor system, City Manager, Corporate Influence.

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