In a recent head-to-head match-up, New Gloucester prevailed over Topsham in Down East’s “Best Places to Live” 2022 bracket competition. The win earned New Gloucester a spot in the second round—the Elite Eight—and the right to take on South Portland for the “Best Commuter Town” crown. The winner will face “Best River Town” champion Richmond or Calais.
Grateful to reach Round II, we won’t whine that South Portland is out of our weight class. And we won’t seize on technicalities, like pointing out that the category is “Best Commuter Town,” while even Down East describes South Portland as Maine’s “fourth-biggest city.”
No, it’s pretty obvious that a New Gloucester-South Portland match-up isn’t a fair fight: We have Shaker Village, the Royal River, Sabbathday Lake, Pineland…
Round II online voting is open now and will close Friday January 7. Find details and the town vs. town ballot at this link.
May the best town—or in this case, city—win!
— Joanne Cole
