Homeless Voices for Justice (HVJ) is holding their 2022 Candidate Forums as part of their You Don’t Need a Home to Vote campaign. The forums will feature candidates for Portland City Council and the Maine State House of Representatives.

These forums allow candidates to listen to, answer the questions of, and learn from a constituency with lived experience of homelessness, poverty, and hunger. This community often feels underrepresented or left behind by political systems.

Friday, October 21 at 12pm; Logan Place
The candidates in attendance will be:
Portland City Council District 3: Regina Phillips and Nathaniel Ferguson

Monday, October 24 at 12pm; 55 Portland Street, Portland
The candidates in attendance will be:
Portland City Council At-Large: Pious Ali, Aqeel Mohialdeen, and Richard Ward
State House of Representatives: Sam Zager and Dale Holman

The HVJ annual You Don’t Need a Home to Vote campaign educates people about their right to vote even if they don’t have a home. It also assists them in voter registration, absentee voting, and upholding their rights.

Over the past 20 years, HVJ has organized more than 65 candidate forums in Maine for federal, state, and municipal candidates. They have registered more than 2,500 voters experiencing homelessness and hunger — as well as youth at the Long Creek Youth Development Center.

Note: All of the candidates running for these seats were invited to attend. The candidates listed above responded yes to that invite.