Natalie West, SoPo City Councilor

03/20/2026

"It helps to have a society which strives toward freedom, equality and justice." (From Finland, ranked as the happiest country in the world.) and "Pentagon seeks $200 BILLION to fund Iran War."
$200,000,000,000.
In the meantime, my colleagues and I are charged with making decisions about a budget that may cut almost 80 positions from our schools, including 42 teaching positions....In a city where we need $50 million in immediate sewer upgrades, our public buildings need replacement, our parks and streets need maintenance....and we are searching for funds to reconstruct a historic city center, build better bicycle infrastructure and meet a host of other needs.
Our entire budget for city, schools and county government is miniscule compared to the amount of taxpayer dollars the Pentagon wants to spend killing people, destroying infrastructure and upsetting the world economy.
There is something wrong.
I want a society that strives toward freedom, equality, and justice.
Join me.

01/06/2026

Today is January 6. Five years ago today, our democracy teetered on the brink and was saved largely by the efforts of our vice president, who obeyed the rule of law while rioters screamed that he should be hanged, and the efforts of law enforcement officers who defended our Democratic system. It was a frightening time and those frightening times have not ceased. I woke up today to read that one of the most influential figures in our government asserts that we can make Greenland part of the US because we want it and we’re powerful. What have we come to?

We are starting a year that should celebrate 250 years of democracy – but what I am seeing is not what my ancestors fought for in the Revolutionary War, or my parents fought for in WWII. I’ve seen our country stumble through some rough times during my life and yet now seems as difficult as any of those times. As South Portland observes the 250th year of our country, let’s renew our belief in the vision on which this nation was founded – we can disagree on individual issues, but let’s share our commitment to a community where we can listen to each other, live together, treat each other with respect and work toward a better quality of life for us all

12/23/2025

Please let me know what you think about the Mahoney School Project. https://southportland.gov/724/Mahoney-Reimagined
The Council will have a workshop on January 13 and it is useful for me to hear from our community in advance of that meeting. This is an exciting project with great potential for the future of our community. At the same time, it is an expensive undertaking that requires a significant financial commitment by our taxpayers. What do you think? Please email me at
I am interested in individual private comments, not online slugfests.
Thanks.

11/12/2025

Thanks to the voters of South Portland for returning me to office for another three years. I plan to spend time working on issues in the Community instead of posting on social media, so you won't hear from me often on this page but please feel free to email at the City about your concerns.

07/19/2025

On July 28, I'll be filing for reelection, asking the voters of South Portland to elect me for another 3 year term. I plan to continue working on the same issues that have been important to me during my past term - Making Mahoney a community center for the next 100 years, home ownership opportunities for working people, better water quality at Willard Beach, improving the Greenbelt to provide safe walking and bicycle opportunities for our community, and prudent growth to our tax base.,

05/25/2025

🍎Education. The Best Long Term Investment we can make for ourselves, our children and our community. Vote to approve the South Portland School Budget for FY 2026 - June 10 or vote in person at City Hall during regular hours from May 19 to June 5, 2025. The Clerk's Office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 7:30 AM to 5 PM and Tuesday 9 AM to 6 PM (closed Friday).

01/09/2025

Let's work together to plan the future of Mahoney School so that we transform Mahoney and its site into a center of community activities to serve our entire community for the next 100 years.

12/18/2024

Santa visited our last Council meeting of 2024. Sending wishes for Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All.

11/01/2024

This photo says it all. Hope for our nation, for our children and hope for our world. Never more important than in these days of November 2024.
Photo © Peter Ralston, posted with permission of the photographer
https://www.ralstongallery.com/about/

05/28/2024

Habitat for Humanity is building 8 homes in South Portland. I signed up to participate in the Women Build Day on June 7. Here is a photo of our crew...We did a good days work!
Two houses have been completed, and others are in the pipeline. A great project. Check out the home ownership program at https://habitatportlandme.org/program/homeownership/

05/24/2024

Citizens have been expressing concerns about Willard Beach and the City's plans in the aftermath of the January storms.
Here is a link to the city's webpage that contains some information and will continue to be updated. https://www.southportland.gov/686/Coastal-Resilience
(In the future, you can go to the webpage - southportland.gov - and click on "Community & Recreation." Then scroll down either on the left side or on the page until you see Coastal Resilience. Click there and start looking...

As you know, I am not a big social media person but will try to let you know when there are resources like this available.

This page describes how the City is planning for climate change and a resilient City.