At the Portland Education Association mayoral forum on Oct. 1, the candidates were asked to name five current Portland Public Schools teachers.

Our incumbent mayor Ethan Strimling has occupied a cushy, full-time, taxpayer-funded position for the last four years – a role whose largely ceremonial duties center around community engagement.

And Ethan Strimling only managed to come up with a single teacher’s full name. One. Single. Teacher.

Ethan may go around touting his record on school funding or endorsements he’s received, but if you’re completing a four-year term as our mayor and you’ve only gone out of your way to meet a single public school teacher – I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that you take pride in our public schools.

On the other hand, I could not be prouder to call myself a Portland Public Schools graduate. And, this Nov. 5, I’ll be voting for a new mayor who shares that pride.

Eamonn Dundon

Portland