Mayor Ethan Strimling Has Hired a new Special Assistant for $64,000 Annually.

By Carol McCracken  (Post # 2,577)

Jason J. Shedlock as been hired to serve as the new Special Assistant to Figurehead Mayor Ethan Strimling the city announced this afternoon in a press release.  Shedlock will start on April 4th at a salary of $64,000. annually.

On Jannuary 12,  2016 this blog announced (Post # 2,534) that the recently elected Mayor intended to  hire a Special Assistant for his office.  The outcry against this hire was strong, but Strimling did not back down.  There were a total of 57 candidates for the position according to the city’s spokesperson Jessica Grondin.  Since then it was learned that the Mayor was renovating new office space at city hall for his tenancy.  This came at a cost of roughly $5,000. to taxpayers.  The Figurehead has moved into his new office according to Jessica Grondin, city spokesperson.

On February 20, 2016 (Post # 2,572) it was revealed  herein  that Figurehead  Strimling and his wife of almost ten years, Mary, had split because of his infidelity to her.  That has since been confirmed by a number of other sources familiar with the situation; many of them from the nursing community of which Mary is a member.  The extra marital affair is with Stephanie Clifford, his campaign manager, who is married with children.

Shedlock will be responsible for assisting on public policy expectations and goals.  This includes assisting with developing analyzing and achieving public policy goals, building community coalitions, communicating with constituents, assisting Council committees, and chairs and stand in for Mayor/councilors at internal and external meetings when either cannot attend.  Many in Portland expressed concern that these responsibilities were those for which Mayor Strimling was elected to carry out  rather than  delegate them to a new city employee.   Just what will the Mayor be doing while his “stand-in”  does the job for which he was elected?  Running for the US Congress!

Mr. Shedlock has worked in both Washington, D.C. and here in Maine according to the press release.  He holds a BA in Political Science from The Catholic University of America and Master of Arts in Government from Johns-Hopkins, in Washington, D.C.

(Meanwhile, this blogger continues to recover from a broken leg suffered at home on Sunday, February 29, 2016.  It is expected to be a few more weeks before this blogger is recovered and able to put weight on the guilty right leg! See previous post.)