PORTLAND – The race to become the first popularly elected mayor in the city since 1923 is starting to take shape, although the already crowded field may grow even more before the ballot is set at the end of August.

As of Friday, 17 residents had filed papers to register as candidates, although one — firefighter Christopher Vail — was invalidated under a rule that bars city employees from running for a municipal office while still working for Portland, leaving 16 officially in the race. Twelve candidates took out nominating papers on Friday, the first day they were available.

Registering with the city allows a candidate to begin raising funds for a campaign, while the nominating papers are petitions to gain a spot on the ballot. The petitions must be signed by 300 to 500 Portland voters and returned between Aug. 15 and 29.

Charles Bragdon, Peter Bryant, Ralph Carmona, Richard Dodge, Jill Duson, Hamza Haadoow, Jodie Lapchick, David Marshall, Nicholas Mavadones, Markos Miller, Paul Schafer and Jay York all took out nominating papers Friday, said Bud Philbrick, an assistant city clerk.

The other registered candidates are Erick Bennett, Zouhair Bouzrara, Michael Brennan and Jed Rathband.

The race has so far attracted a third of the City Council — Duson, Marshall and Mavadones, who is also the sitting mayor.

Since 1923, the council has picked the mayor, whose role is mostly ceremonial, from its members for a one-year term. A charter change approved by voters last year makes the post popularly elected, with a four-year term and a $66,000 salary. The mayor also received the power to veto the city’s annual budget, but that action can be overridden by a vote of six councilors.

The new charter also calls for a ranked-choice election in which voters can indicate not only their preferred candidate, but also the candidates they’d like to see if their first choice doesn’t fare so well. If, after the first round of vote counting, the leading vote-getter doesn’t have a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is dropped and his or her supporters’ second-choice votes are allocated to candidates. The process continues, with candidates dropped and voters’ lower-ranked choices allocated to other candidates until one receives a majority.

The aim is to produce an “instant runoff” winner who can claim a mandate. But it also produces some interesting politicking, with candidates vying to be the second or third choice among opponents’ supporters. The practical effect is usually less negative campaigning, with candidates seeking to avoid becoming a polarizing choice with a group of loyal supporters, but few votes as a second- or third-ranked candidate.

Whether it’s the election process, the slightly increased power, the full-time nature of the job or just the chance for a spot in Portland history, the race has attracted a lot of interest. And it may not be done yet, since candidates have until the nominating paper deadline at the end of August to register and get enough signatures to get on the ballot.

One potential candidate, former state Sen. Ethan Strimling, a Portland Democrat and now head of the LearningWorks education and advocacy group, said Friday he’s considering a run. Strimling said he’s trying to gauge support before making a decision.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:

emurphy@pressherald.com