South Portland voters in District 1 and part of District 2 will fill the vacant House District 122 seat next November.
The South Portland City Council originally planned to hold special election during the primary elections in March to fill the late Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt’s seat, but councilors Tuesday voted unanimously to hold off because the legislative session would adjourn a month after that vote.
Reckitt
“If it was going to be a six-month session that’d be something totally different,” said Councilor Linda Cohen. “For three weeks, I say let’s leave it and let the primary process take its place and onto the general election in November.”
Councilor Natalie West said it is important to have a large voter turnout for a state representative and the November 2024 general election, which will decide the presidential race, will have a higher turnout than one in March.
Reckitt, a Democratic lawmaker and a longtime activist for women’s rights, died Oct. 30 at age 78.
Also on Tuesday, the City Council repealed the Benchmarking Ordinance, which requires owners of buildings with floor areas of 20,000 or more square feet to report their energy and water usage to the city. The ordinance took effect in 2017 and was later amended in 2021.
City Manager Scott Morelli said that the Sustainability Department has faced challenges in enforcing the ordinance, including receiving incomplete data submissions from tenants and low compliance rates. This resulted in an “unforeseen strain on city staff resources,” he said.
The council voted unanimously to repeal the ordinance.
The council also issued Kume Sushi Lounge, located at 50 Market St., a restaurant and liquor license.
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