Sanford, Maine

Sanford, Maine
City
Sanford in 2014
Seal
Nickname:  The heart of York County
Location of city of Sanford in map of Maine
Sanford, Maine Location in the United States
Coordinates: 43°26′2″N 70°45′51″W / 43.43389°N 70.76417°W / 43.43389; -70.76417
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	York
Settled	1739
Incorporated	Town: February 27, 1768 City: January 1, 2013
Government
• Type	City Council/Mayor
• Mayor	Becky A. Brink
• City Council	Maura A. Herlihy, Deputy Mayor Robert G. Stackpole Ayn Hanselmann Jonathan Martell Peter Tranchemontagne Nathaniel Hitchcock
• City Manager	Steven R. Buck
Area [1]
• Total	48.75 sq mi (126.27 km2)
• Land	47.79 sq mi (123.78 km2)
• Water	0.96 sq mi (2.50 km2)
Elevation	262 ft (80 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	21,982
• Density	459.97/sq mi (177.59/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	04073 and 04083
Area code	207
FIPS code	23-65760
GNIS feature ID	0582712
Website	www.sanfordmaine.org

Sanford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,982 in the 2020 census, making it the seventh largest municipality in the state.^[2] Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale. The city features many lakes in wooded areas which attract campers.

Sanford is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.

On November 6, 2012, Sanford voters approved a new charter to re-incorporate Sanford as a city and replace the town meeting format with a city council/mayor/strong manager form of government, along with other changes. The new charter took effect on January 1, 2013.^[3] Sanford's new charter provides that the first mayor would be appointed from the ranks of Sanford's seven city councilors and serve interim for one-year period. On January 8, 2013, Maura A. Herlihy was appointed as Sanford's first mayor.^[4]

In 2014, an elected-at-large mayor took office. On November 5, 2013, Thomas Cote was elected as mayor.^[5] Beginning in 2016, the mayoral position began being elected at-large every two years during legislative election cycles.