TAE CHONG
STANDS FOR:

EDUCATION

I believe in equity for all. Our future depends on it. As a product of Portland Public Schools and a parent of two students, I am confident that we have the best teachers, staff, and administrators in the state.  As city councilor, I will work with the School Committee to ensure that the budget will support students’ academic, social, emotional, and behavioral learning, beyond building schools. I understand the complexity of serving the diverse needs of our student population. With nearly 25% of the student population ESOL, and almost 50% of our schools multicultural, we need to make sure that school personnel have the resources and supports to help our students become their best. In 2019, I co-authored a paper with Educate Maine focused on innovative ways to help multicultural students to succeed. I also wrote a white paper on the benefit of promoting teacher ESL certification as a means to increase proficiency and graduation rates for New Mainer students, thereby improving the quality of learning for the entire school district. 

Housing

The city is facing a housing crisis, and there is no one-size-fits-all model for affordable housing. As a city councilor, I will commit to looking at all housing options, recognizing the unique characteristics of each neighborhood. I have solid experience in this approach. As the former Services Program Manager of the Portland Housing Authority, I worked with the six neighborhood associations within our large public housing neighborhoods in Portland. I met with working families, elderly residents, and residents with disabilities to solve complicated, often contentious issues. I recognize that the times are changing the face of Portland residents. In the year 2000, the Portland Schools had nearly 8,000 students—and now we have about 6,500.  Meanwhile, the population of young professionals, between the ages of 24 to 35, grew, as did the elderly and immigrant populations. We need to find more creative ways to house single, elderly and immigrant families.  

THE ECONOMY

Our economy can only grow if our residents continue to live here and work here. Portland is experiencing a historic unemployment rate of almost 2%. Two populations are keeping Portland’s growth stable: immigrants and Millennials. The New Mainer population makes up almost 20% of the city’s overall population—a number that doubled in twenty years. As many multicultural adults are looking to improve their employment pathways, the city needs to be ready to respond by funding the programs that support this progress. As the founding board member of Friends of Adult Education, I have seen that we need to invest in and expedite the number of immigrants, refugees, asylees, and asylum seekers into the workforce.  We also need to keep the city attractive for young professionals because they, like our New Mainers, are our future homeowners.  If we lose them to surrounding towns, they are not likely to come back to Portland to purchase homes. As a city councilor, I will work to find ways to attract and retain potential workers. I will also partner with members of the creative community, business, and city government to strengthen our reputation as a welcoming city that promotes diversity, arts, public spaces, higher education, and the creative economy. We need a more comprehensive approach to economic development. 

The environment

Climate change is real. I believe that Portland must do what it can to set the standard of responsible environmental practices for the rest of the state and the nation. As city councilor, I will advocate for carbon mitigation policies while looking at the action steps and investments we can afford that will also bring us the biggest payback.  As the former Weatherization Program Officer for the Maine State Housing Authority, I helped to calculate the environmental impact of weatherizing homes throughout Maine, and I helped to assess how much money these efforts saved homeowners.  As part of a weatherization and alternative energy team, we explored cold climate heat pumps, windmills, solar panels, and cold climate water heaters. I hope to bring my passion, connections, and experience to the universal cause.