Former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling, at center, and members of the Trelawny Tenants Union stand outside the Trelawny Building on Congress Street in January. Strimling is fighting his eviction by landlord Geoffrey Rice, claiming that he is being targeted for helping to organize the tenants union. The case is headed to a jury trial and members of the tenants union have raised $3,700 so far to help Strimling pay legal fees. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

The tenants union in former Portland mayor Ethan Strimling’s building is raising money to fight his landlord’s effort to evict him in a case that is heading to a jury trial.

As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe campaign to help pay Strimling’s legal costs in his battle with landlord Geoffrey Rice had generated more than $3,700 in donations.

Landlord Geoffrey Rice, testifying during the first trial in April when a judge ruled the eviction could proceed, says he legally issued Strimling a notice of non-renewal last year because he was tired of the former mayor trying to “nickel and dime” him out of rent increases and was fed up when Strimling left a window open during heating season, in violation of his lease. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

The fundraising effort was started in May, not long after Strimling filed an appeal of a judge’s decision to allow his eviction to proceed, but it was publicized last week in an email by the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America’s tenant working group after Strimling won his appeal and a Maine Superior Court judge ruled the case would go to a new jury trial.

Strimling has argued that his eviction is unlawful because it is based on his involvement with the tenants union. Fellow union members agree.

“It is a clear case of landlord retaliation against unionizing and we have a vested interest in making sure tenants are able to organize safely in Portland and in Maine going forward,” said Wes Pelletier, a member of both the steering committee for the Trelawny Tenants Union and the DSA’s tenant working group.

Pelletier said the eviction is not just about Strimling’s dispute with his landlord, but could set precedent on tenant organizing issues in Maine.

“It’s very clear-cut that he’s being retaliated against for organizing,” Pelletier said. “There needs to be legal precedent that doing that is not grounds for eviction.”

The jury trial, which is expected to take place in the fall at the earliest, was ordered by a Maine Superior Court judge to resolve disputes about key facts in the case.

Rice, the landlord, has said he legally issued Strimling a notice of non-renewal last year because he was tired of the former mayor trying to “nickel and dime” him out of rent increases and was fed up when Strimling left a window open during heating season, in violation of his lease.

The jury will examine whether Rice’s decision to schedule a May 2021 meeting, in which Strimling was issued the non-renewal notice, was in response to union activity and whether Strimling’s participation in the union was discussed during the meeting.

In the email sent to the DSA’s mailing list last week, the tenant working group and Trelawny Tenants Union called for donations to the fundraising campaign to fight retaliation by Rice.

“If our landlord succeeds, it will send a chilling message not only to members of our union, but to every tenant in Maine who fights to better their living conditions,” the email said. “We can’t let this eviction stand, and we won’t.”

LEGAL FEES MOUNTING

Strimling, who was mayor from 2015 to 2019, said Wednesday that he already has paid between $10,000 and $20,000 in legal expenses on the case and he expects to pay another $10,000 to get through the trial.

He currently makes a living doing political and community organizing work, he said, writing about politics for the Bangor Daily News and Maine Beacon and doing political analysis for News Center Maine.

Strimling also recently took on a position at MoveOn.org, a progressive public policy advocacy group, to help with its work ahead of the midterm elections in November.

“The response has been very heartwarming to see,” Strimling said of the fundraising campaign. “It’s energizing. This is a case we need to win to make sure tenants are protected.”

Strimling is not mentioned by name on the GoFundMe page. Pelletier said that’s because his name has political connotations and the union does not want to distract from the issue.

“At the end of the day, this is about a broader cause than Ethan,” Pelletier said. “It’s about fighting back against landlords who are trying to union bust.”