SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — At a workshop on Wednesday, City Councilor Linda Cohen was nominated unanimously to fill the position of Mayor Jerry Jalbert, who did not seek re-election.
Councilors will select the city’s next mayor on Dec. 1, and another candidate could arise before then. City Clerk Susan Mooney said that’s happened in the past, but given the 7-0 nomination, she does not anticipate a contested race this year.
In South Portland, the mayor position is effectively the City Council chairman.
“I believe the council will unanimously support Councilor Cohen as mayor for 2014-2015,” Mooney said.
Cohen was elected in 2012 to represent District 4 on the City Council. From 1989-2001, she had served as city clerk. She then held a similar position in Portland until 2011.
In addition to serving on the council, Cohen is president of the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Community Chamber of Commerce, and is also in her second year as a member of the Maine Municipal Association’s executive board.
Cohen works as a loan officer at PMAC Lending Services Inc., and is director of development at LearningWorks, a Portland-based nonprofit group.