Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling and his wife are divorcing after more than a decade of marriage and have filed opposing claims about financial terms.
Mary Beeaker filed a divorce complaint last month and is asking Cumberland County District Court in Portland to award her possession of their West End condo and alimony while the divorce is pending. Strimling filed a motion last week contesting the terms.
Court documents do not cite a reason for the divorce. Beeaker’s attorney, Diane Dusini, cited “irreconcilable differences.”
Dusini and Strimling declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the breakup.
“Ms. Beeaker is seeking a divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences,” Dusini said in an email. “She is disappointed that her marriage has ended but we remain hopeful that the parties will be able to reach an amicable settlement agreement.”
The couple, who were married on Sept. 22, 2004, in Positano, Italy, have no children.
“We had 11 great years,” Strimling said in an interview Wednesday. “It’s hard and it’s painful. We’d ask that people respect our privacy.”
Strimling, who was elected in November and took office in December, said he and his wife have been separated for about three months. He has been living in a one-bedroom apartment on Congress Street for the last two months, after staying with friends and at the Hyatt Place hotel for a month.
Strimling confirmed he is now in a relationship with his former campaign manager, Stephanie Clifford, a partner and president of Baldacci Communications, where she works on public referendums, candidate campaigns and public relations projects. He said the relationship began “well after election day,” but declined to be more specific.
Court documents indicate that Beeaker is asking a judge to award her sole possession of the couple’s condo at 211 Spring St. while the divorce is pending.
Beeaker also is asking the court to require Strimling to pay interim spousal support for the mortgage, real estate taxes and homeowner association fees, as well as ongoing bills and expenses. The filing says she is unable to support herself because she quit her job as a nurse at Maine Medical Center so she could study to become a licensed esthetician. She said she has yet to establish a skin care clientele and is doing shift work at the hospital.
Strimling filed a counterclaim also seeking a divorce but is contesting the request for financial support while the divorce is pending.
Beeaker filed the initial divorce complaint March 3. Strimling filed his opposition to Beeaker’s request for spousal support on March 28.
The case is scheduled for a pre-trial conference in Portland District Court on Aug. 17, but both sides are optimistic they can reach a settlement.
Strimling is being represented by Kenneth Altshuler, a Portland divorce a lawyer and co-host of WGAN’s Ken & Mike show, on which Strimling makes weekly appearances.
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