The Maine Continuum of Care has three Tri-Chairs who are each elected to serve a three year term of office. Typically, this means we have one seat up for election each year, but right now, we have two!

Awa Conteh’s term is ending in December, so her seat is up for election as part of the regular 3 year cycle. Awa has already been nominated and has accepted the nomination, so she will be running for re-election, but MCOC is also accepting other nominations for that position for a 3 year term.

Norm Maze has recently announced that he will be stepping down from his Tri-Chair seat, so MCOC will also be accepting nominations for that position, though the person who fills that seat will serve out the remainder of Norm’s term, which is for 2 more years, in order to keep the three year cycle on track.

If you would like to nominate someone, please check with them to be sure they are willing and able to take on this responsibility. You may also nominate yourself (please be sure you are willing and able to take on this responsibility). Nominees should be individuals with knowledge of and interest in the work of the Maine Continuum of Care.

Nominations must be sent via email to Scott and Vickey at and no later than November 10th, 2022. You may nominate someone for either, or for both positions. Be sure to specify which seat or seats you are nominating the person for, so they will know if they will be committing to a 2 or a 3 year term and so we will know which election they are running in. Votes for the 3 year opening will be counted first, since that is part of our regular election cycle. Votes for the 2 year opening will then be counted, since that is a ‘special’ election. If someone was only nominated for the 3 year opening, they will not automatically be entered in the running for the 2 year opening – so again, please be sure to specify if you are nominating someone for both seats/terms. If the winner of the 3 year opening was nominated for both, they will no longer be in the running for the 2 year opening.

If there are multiple nominations for a seat, we will ask that the candidates submit a brief written summary (limit of 2000 characters, including spaces and punctuation) of their background, capacity, and interest in the position. These will be posted prior to the vote to give members a chance to learn a bit more about the candidates. Voting will be conducted electronically prior to the December 15th MCOC meeting so that the winners can be announced at that time. Only Eligible Voting Members may vote in the elections. Each agency may only cast one vote in each election, regardless of how many people from that agency regularly attend meetings. If your agency has several MCOC attendees, you must decide which one will represent and vote on behalf of the agency. In order to be considered an Eligible Voting Member an agency must have attended at least 6 of the previous 12 full MCOC Meetings. Attendance is tracked by agency, not by individual, unless an individual attends on their own behalf and is not associated with any agency or organization otherwise represented. The following agencies are currently Eligible Voting Members of the Maine Continuum of Care:

ACAP
Bangor Area Homeless Shelter
Caring Unlimited
CHOM
City of Bangor
City of Biddeford
City of Portland (OSS/FS/HHS)
Community Health & Counseling Services
DHHS
Family Violence Project
HOME, Inc.
Homeless Advocacy For All
Homeless Services of Aroostook
Hope and Justice Project
Hub 7 – (Penquis)
HUD
Kennebec Behavioral Health
Knox County Homeless Coalition
Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence
MaineHousing
Mid Maine Homeless Shelter
Milestone
New Beginnings
New Hope Midcoast
Next Step
Northern Light
OHI
Preble Street
RCAM
Safe Voices
Shalom House
Shaw House (Community Care)
Tedford Housing
Through These Doors
Veteran’s Inc
Volunteers of America
Waldo CAP
Western ME CAP
York County Shelter Programs, Inc.
Youth Advisory Board

Published by Scott Tibbitts