{"id":12315,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/stephanie-anderson\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:48","slug":"stephanie-anderson","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/stephanie-anderson\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephanie Anderson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">District Attorney, elected seven times \u2013 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014; State Senate District 29, 2022, lost; Town Council, Town of Cape Elizabeth, 2023, won<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My top three priorities are restoring public safety, rebuilding trust in the DA\u2019s Office, and holding serious and repeat offenders accountable.\nPortland has become unrecognizable, and crime is spilling into its surrounding communities. Too many moms no longer feel safe letting their children walk to school. That is unacceptable.\nFor 28 years, I put public safety first as District Attorney. I\u2019m running to bring back the leadership, accountability, and sense of security Cumberland County deserves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I love this community. I can\u2019t stand by while public safety deteriorates and confidence in the DA\u2019s Office erodes.\nAfter 28 years as District Attorney, I know what strong leadership can accomplish. Lifelong Democrats and professionals throughout the criminal justice system have urged me to come back, and I feel compelled to answer that call.\nWhat\u2019s happening in Cumberland County isn\u2019t right. It has to change. People deserve to feel safe in their communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">What is the biggest challenge facing your town\/county? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest challenge facing Cumberland County is restoring public safety. It starts with leadership, accountability, and experience. I know this job and I know what a well-led office can accomplish. We created initiatives that combined accountability with compassion, while taking serious crimes seriously. Cumberland County needs a DA who is present, engaged, supports prosecutors, works with law enforcement and community partners, and understands that compassion and accountability can coexist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">If you could change one thing about how the town\/county functions, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">County government generally functions well. What I would like to change is the tendency to let partisan politics get in the way of honest discussion.\nGood government requires listening to people we disagree with, following facts and evidence and being willing to change our minds. That is how decisions and compromises are made.\nThat clearly applies to the DA\u2019s Office. Public safety should never be partisan. We need compassion and accountability, because progress requires both.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Do you support more development \u2013 i.e. more housing construction and business building in your town\/county? Why or why not?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The District Attorney can only affect housing tangentially, but I would love to see more workforce housing in Cumberland County, particularly for people earning 80% or less of the Area Median Income.\nIt\u2019s tragic that the people who teach our children, protect our communities, and care for our towns often can\u2019t afford to live where they work. That said, my focus as DA would be restoring public safety in Portland and throughout Cumberland County.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7194,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Stephanie","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Anderson","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":12313,"voter_guide_candidate_age":73,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Attorney (retired)","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Currently serve on State Parole Board and State Grievance Commission Past president, Maine Prosecutor\u2019s Association \u2013 20 years Past director, National District Attorney\u2019s Association \u2013 20 years","voter_guide_candidate_education":"Marshwood High School; University of Maine at Orono; University of Kent at Canterbury; University of Maine School of Law","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1JSxj23jAZWCfZ0B0XxFPDpRzRe5El4qy","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[466],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-12315","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-independent"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12316,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12315\/revisions\/12316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=12315"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=12315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}