Carpenters, gov’t workers endorse Mavodones in mayoral race

Portland mayoral candidate Nicholas Mavodones is carrying strong support among unions heading into the Nov. 8 election. Today, his campaign announced he’s adding Local 1996 of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters and Local 481 of the Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees to his list of received endorsements.

Here’s what John Leavitt, business manager for Local 1996, said about Mavodones in a statement:

Nick has sat on both sides of the negotiating table and has displayed a knack for getting the best results on the toughest issues. That is the kind of mayor Portland needs.

This comes on top of an endorsement by the Portland Education Association, which picked Mavodones as its top choice in a slate of four, and what his campaign is describing as the “support of” Local 861 of the International Association of Longshoremen.

Mavodones is a former member of the longshoremen’s union, for which he was a negotiator and shop steward during his nearly two-decade climb through the ranks of Casco Bay Lines, where he now works as the company operations manager.

Mavodones also received an honorable mention along with David Marshall and Ethan Strimling by the Portland Community Chamber Political Action Committee, which only gave an official endorsement to Jed Rathband.

Here’s what Mavodones, who is currently mayor as determined during the previous method of appointment by fellow city councilors, had to say about today’s endorsements:

Making it easier to create jobs will be my highest priority as mayor, so I am particularly proud to have the support of organizations that ensure Portland’s workers have fair pay and good benefits.

The Maine People’s Resource Center unveiled polling results today placing Mavodones third in the 15-candidate race behind Michael Brennan and Strimling, respectively. Both Strimling’s and Mavodones’ campaigns have responded that their numbers have the race much closer.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.