Mayor· 2023-12-04 - 2027-12-01
Mark Dion
Portland
About
Mark Dion's platform centers on addressing homelessness, enhancing public safety as a law-and-order candidate, and improving vital community services such as detox facilities and pedestrian safety. His campaign emphasized practical human connections and municipal leadership to tackle urban challenges in Portland.
Campaign promises (2)
- public-safetyMayor Mark Dion is stepping up efforts to address homelessness and public safety issues in Portland.Related votes
- public-safetyMayor Dion has focused his hopes on improving detox services and pedestrian safety in the city.
Voice
- Meetings spoken in
- 53
- Total speaking time
- 9:04:53
- Avg per meeting
- 10:17
- Segments
- 9775
Want every word Dion has said?
The OpenCity MCP for Claude.ai answers questions like “what has Dion said about housing this year” with one prompt — full speaking history, with YouTube timestamps.
Top issues during term (20)
Winter warming shelter funding ($1.25M opioid settlement funds)
Affects how the city's opioid settlement funds are allocated.
CMP Greater Portland Transmission Upgrades
Residents worry ratepayers could bear significant costs and that alternative solutions may be cheaper; a ratepayer cost assessment was requested.
Forest Avenue Pedestrian Crossings
City match of $56,250 for York Street design, with the state paying $168,750.
Rent Board Rules of Procedure revision (Article XI)
Unknown — enforcement changes could shift compliance and administrative costs between tenants, landlords and the city, but no figures are on record.
Proposed changes to Creative Portland
The presentation covered the return on the city's existing investment in Creative Portland; specific figures were to be outlined in the workshop.
Rent control enforcement and tenant protections
City Manager West flagged likely budget, staffing, and consultant costs — the IT director estimates an online registration database will require hiring a consultant.
Boyd/Cumberland Affordable Housing TIF
TIF and credit enhancement tools shift future tax increment toward affordable housing development.
2026-2027 Winter Warming Emergency Shelter
Seeds of Hope got $360,000 of the city's $688,000 request from MaineHousing.
New buyer at the Portland Fish Exchange
A new buyer could increase auction competition, though no dollar figure was attached.
Peaks Island Council Rules
Small-business grant program changes
Up to $85,000 in PDC loan funds were under consideration for the two businesses.
Rent increase applications at four Portland buildings
Approved increases add roughly $115 to $180 per month to affected units, with tenants at 439 Congress dodging an $18.64 increase for now.
Council rules and Peaks Island Council
The assessment was already reduced from $812,200 to $651,100, saving roughly $1,930 in taxes; the denial means no further reduction.
Hearts of Pine stadium rezoning at 92 Cassidy Point Drive
The applicant cited a $16.5 million annual economic impact and 145 jobs from the club's first season; the Port Authority countered that the Port of Portland handled $3.8 billion in trade in 2025.
Northeast Air jetport lease extension
$10.1 million comes from Jetport unrestricted funds, not the general fund.
Service Pier 1 closure
Up to $8,000 for the second opinion, with a temporary shoring fix once estimated at $302,000.
First Light Commons parking fees
$151,000 budgeted for the First Light Commons commission from FY26 funds.
Jewel Box bus shelter deaccessioned
Lambert Woods North Funding Gap
$375,000 from the housing trust fund.
Civilian Police Review Board Training
A labor challenge could cost the city in litigation and further delay the board's launch.
Decisions during term (355)
Recorded while Dion was in office — not necessarily decisions they moved, spoke to, or voted on.
Endorse updated Debt Management Policy and Chapter 2/Chapter 14 amendments
Adjournment
Major Site Plan approval — 43 St. Lawrence Street (PL-003653-2026)
Conditional Zoning Agreement Amendment C-58 — 76 Congress Street (ZN-003712-2026)
Workshop item tabled — 41 Ashmont Street (PL-003618-2026)
Suspension of rules to eliminate non-agenda public comment
Motion to enter executive session
Postponement of Order 70-26/27 (winter warming shelter funding)
Adjournment
Approval of minutes from the September 21 meeting
Recommendation of Reimagining Franklin Street design to City Council
Postponement of Vision Zero update and median strip ordinance
Minutes from September 21
Approval of September 16, 2026 Meeting Minutes
Conservation priorities: Acrobatic Dogs and Hadlock Field Family
Relocation of Glimpse sculptures at Portland Jetport
Recommendation to Maine Historic Preservation Commission — National Register Nomination for Harvey Gamage
Motion to adjourn
Approval of October 6, 2026 meeting minutes
Approval of October 5, 2026 Council Minutes
Voting record (50)
Oldest to newest — hover a bar for the item.
Motion to enter executive session
Postponement of Order 70-26/27 (winter warming shelter funding)
Order 57-26/27 — $375,000 for Lambert Woods North
Order 64-26/27 — FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant
Order 65-26/27 — DHHS Drug-Free Communities Grant
Order 38-26/27 — EPA Brownfields Assessment Cooperative Agreement ($500,000)
Order 39-26/27 — EPA Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Amendment ($1,000,000)
amend
passage, as amended
Resolve 2-26/27 — Rent control enforcement and tenant protections (as amended)
Principled opposition to bypassing committee process; wanted the entire matter referred to the Housing and Economic Development Committee.
Order 24-26/27 — $225,000 for ADS-B Transponders in 57 Jetport Vehicles
Order 31-26/27 — Amendment to City Code Re: Entertainment Businesses in B-3 and WCZ Zones
passage
amend
Order 139-25/26 — PILOT Policy ( FAILED)
Opposes the approach as adversarial toward nonprofit partners; prefers collaboration.
Sykes Amendment 1 to PILOT Policy ( FAILED)
Sees no outcome in asking staff to compile reports that change nothing.
amend
amend
passage
Amend Pelletier Amendment
as amended
passage
amend
amend Fournier Amendment
FY27 budget Amendment #1: family shelter funding increase
Opposed, citing state and regional responsibility for shelter costs and affordability limits on Portland taxpayers.
FY27 budget: Ali amendment to Fournier Amendment #3A (50-cent meter increase, 8 p.m. enforcement)
Called the combined proposal too much.
FY27 budget Sykes Amendment #4: 10% library funding increase — FAILED
Opposed injecting funds during active labor negotiations and the city's lack of control over library spending.
FY27 budget Pelletier Amendment #5: reduce Axon/police technology funding by $210,000
Order 196-25/26 — State/Local EPS School Funding, FY2027
Order 197-25/26 — Non-State Funded School Construction Debt Service
Order 198-25/26 — Additional Local Funds for Portland Schools
Order 199-25/26 — Total School Operating Budget, FY2027
Order 200-25/26 — Adult Education Funding, FY2027
passage as amended
passage
Order 180-25/26 — Immigration Enforcement Amendment
passage
passage
Order 182-25/26 — Theater dispersal requirements amendment
Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of February 2, 2026
Order 139-25/26 — Postponement of PILOT Policy
Orders 132-134 — Liquor license approvals (Lone Pine Brewing, Grace, Elizabeth's)
Order 127-25/26 — $250,000 for Portland Public Pool Replacement
Order 131-25/26 — 179-day extension of large-venue moratorium
Does not want the issue to die on a technical calendar outcome
Order 135-25/26 — Sale of Portland Technology Park parcel to Carassas Holdings LLC
Motion to enter executive session
Order 114-25/26 Amendment to Portland City Code Chapter 2 Re: Civilian Police Review Board
Councilor Sykes Amendment 1
Councilor Sykes Amendment 2
Order 114-25/26 — Civilian Police Review Board ordinance (final passage)
Believed the ordinance should go back to labor relations to negotiate with the union first.