Randy Billings is a government watchdog and political reporter who has been covering Portland City Hall for the Press Herald since 2012. His beat touches on a wide range of topics, including immigration, homelessness, education, tourism, real estate development and the economy in Maine’s largest city. He has been a Portland-based journalist since 2005. A life-long Mainer who loves the outdoors, Randy is also a bassist who brews his own beer at his North Yarmouth home, where he lives with his wife and two children.
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PublishedNovember 21, 2019
About 70 more asylum seekers expected to arrive in Portland this week
The African families released at the border in Texas will be offered overnight shelter in local gymnasiums, and city officials are making contingency plans in case the influx is larger than expected.
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PublishedNovember 19, 2019
Capacity of Portland’s new shelter to be decided by incoming mayor and council
The Portland City Council delayed its decision about policies for the planned shelter Monday, including whether to set a limit on the number of people who would be served there.
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PublishedNovember 19, 2019
Portland council decides to ask voters whether to expand ranked-choice voting in city elections
The effort to expand ranked-choice voting to all city elections was initially led by Fair Elections Portland, but the group failed to gather enough signatures to put it on the ballot.
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PublishedNovember 18, 2019
Portland council delays vote on facial recognition ban
While Councilor Pious Ali is concerned about the technology and says it can misidentify women and people of color, other councilors want to wait until Kate Snyder is sworn in as mayor and the issue is studied by a committee.
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PublishedNovember 17, 2019
Portland poised to ask voters to expand use of ranked-choice voting
The City Council on Monday is expected to set a date to ask whether they want to expand the voting method to all council and school board elections.
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PublishedNovember 17, 2019
Portland considers ban on face-scanning technology
Civil rights advocates fear the proliferating facial recognition technology will be used to conduct mass surveillance of innocent civilians without probable cause.
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PublishedNovember 12, 2019
Portland councilors must decide how many homeless people new shelter can hold
The City Council has to set the capacity so the shelter can be designed, but advocates for the homeless fear the city could abandon its 30-year commitment to taking in anyone in need of shelter.
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PublishedNovember 9, 2019
High-priced housing market is squeezing low-income renters
Residents of The Woodwinds are the latest tenants in the Portland area to feel the pressure exerted by rent increases, a development boom and a lack of affordable housing.
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PublishedNovember 6, 2019
On the day after, Portland’s mayor-elect reflects on a win that surprised even herself
Kate Snyder says in a Q&A with the Portland Press Herald that she’s already making plans to meet with city councilors and the city manager to begin the transition to her new full-time job.
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PublishedNovember 5, 2019
Kate Snyder wins heated race for Portland mayor, unseating incumbent Ethan Strimling
After taking a commanding lead, the former school board chair wins a late-night ranked-choice runoff.
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