Letter to the Editor: Mayor doesn’t know about schools

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 […]

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