How much does an election cost in Portland, Maine? The Chamber of Commerce, real estate developers, and Airbnb’s corporate offices are hoping it’s around $1 million. With just days to go, opponents of five progressive referenda sponsored by People First Portland are pouring money into direct mailers (I’ve received dozens in the last two weeks), Facebook ads, and high-price social media advertising.

The five referenda (A, B, C, D, and E) include raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour (with time and a half for essential workers during emergencies), banning police use of facial recognition software, Green New Deal building policies, rent control and tenant protections, and restricting short-term rentals. Taken as a package, the measures seek to slow gentrification and greenhouse gas emissions, boost workers’ pay, and remove one racist tool from local police forces in the wake of skyrocketing rents, pandemic-induced budget cuts, and long-standing racist treatment of the city’s people of color by the Portland Police Department and city officials.

In sum, People First Portland seeks to defend the right of working-class people to live in Portland.