City Councilor Belinda Ray

I'm currently serving my second term on the City Council. Check out some of my accomplishments and the various boards and committees I serve on below.

About Belinda

A native Mainer, Belinda was born in Damariscotta, grew up in Newcastle, attended college in Orono, and moved to the Portland area in 1992. She has lived in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland since 2004, and in 2006, she helped to found the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization (EBNO).

For EBNO, Belinda served sequentially as Vice President, President, and finally Community Organizer.

In 2015, Belinda was elected to represent District One on the Portland City Council, and she was re-elected to that seat in 2018.

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Notable Accomplishments

Helping to preserve Fort Sumner Park
Advocating for a new emergency shelter facility
Expanding emergency shelter zoning in the city
Advocating for the Oxford Street Shelter to adopt a 24-hour service model
Updating the City’s Noise Ordinance
Facilitating listening sessions on Munjoy Hill
Passing zoning regulations that balance preservation and development
Helping draft and pass Portland’s Pesticide Ordinance
Incentivizing the development of workforce housing
Increasing the number of spaces in the Islander Parking Zone from 51 in 2016 to 124 in 2019
Securing a 10% discount on monthly parking at the Casco Bay Garage for year-round island residents
Instituting a shuttle pilot program between the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal and the Marginal Way Park and Ride to help islanders and test the efficacy of satellite parking
Implementing and updating Short Term Rental regulations
Updating the Golf Cart Ordinance in 2016 and bringing forward new regulations to improve sustainability and quality of life on Peaks Island
Presenting an amendment to preserve programs at the India Street Public Health Clinic
Advancing Housing First initiatives regionally
Introducing and passing a charter amendment to increase transparency in campaign finance reporting. More details here.
Establishing policy for regular holiday trash collection
Advocating for and establishing the Munjoy Hill Historic District
Working to increase the number of EV chargers in Portland

Boards & Commissions

METRO Board (2016-present; President, 2018-2021; Vice President 2016-2018)
GPCOG General Assembly (January 2017-March 2021; Executive Committee President 2019-2020; Ex. Comm. 1st Vice President, 2017-2019)
PACTS Transit Tomorrow Plan Advisory Committee (January 2019-2020)
METRO "Peninsolution" Task Force Chair (2019-2021)
GPCOG Metro Regional Coalition (2017-March 2021)
Portland Public Library Board of Trustees (Jan 2018-December2020)
Portland Public Schools District Advisory Building Committee (Jan 2018-present)
Health & Human Services and Public Safety Committee (2016-present; Chair 2017-2020)
Sustainability & Transportation Committee (2017-present; Chair 2021)
Finance Committee (2016, 2020)
Parks Commission (2016-2017)
Housing Committee (2016)
East Bayside Brownfields Planning Advisory Committee (Co-Chair, 2016-2017)
Transit West Task Force (2017-2018)

As your District One City Councilor, I work to keep Portland livable, walkable, bikeable, and accessible for everyone, and I strive to act in accordance with the guiding principles below at all times.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

CIVILITY

Everyone deserves respect and should be greeted with kindness. All parties need to be listened to thoughtfully and with an open mind. Maintaining an overall tone of civility is essential to accomplishing the work required to maintain—and improve—Portland's quality of life for all.

INTEGRITY

Words are powerful and must be chosen with care. In order to maintain personal integrity, city councilors must speak and act deliberately and with conviction. They must also speak honestly and often with their constituents; resist the allure of power, money, or easy answers; and be willing to do the hard work required to make thoughtful decisions.

ACCOUNTABILITY

We all must must take responsibility for our actions and choices. This is especially important for public officials. Passing the buck, blaming others, or claiming ignorance is unacceptable. City councilors have a responsibility to educate themselves about the issues facing Portland and to remain accountable to the people they represent.