BANGOR, Maine — Candidates for Bangor City Council split the field Wednesday when asked to identify the biggest challenge facing the city.
During a public forum at City Hall, they called for action to curb crime in the city, stave off future tax increases and provide living wages for residents.
Seven candidates are seeking three open seats on the council in Nov. 4 municipal election.
Incumbent David Nealley and candidate Gary Capehart both identified fiscal issues. Nealley cited unfunded state and federal mandates that ultimately cost local taxpayers as the biggest challenge.
“The biggest single issue I believe is going to be how we’re going to find the resources because we must move forward and try to keep property taxes in check,” he said, calling for the city to take advantage of as much grant money as possible.
Capehart said the biggest challenge is the cost of city operations.
“We must live within our means,” he said. “Can we combine departments, regionalize? Can we ask more of workers?”
Capehart, 66, ran as a Republican for the Maine House District 125 seat last year. A retired teacher of 37 years and formerly a coach, he also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Nealley, 54, is the only sitting councilor to seek re-election this year. First elected in 2001, he has served three nonconsecutive terms and is publisher of Maine Seniors magazine.
Meanwhile, Joe Perry and Megan “Meg” Shorette identified crime as the biggest challenge facing the city.
Perry, a 49-year-old Democrat, served 14 years in the Maine Legislature and owns Garland Street Market in Bangor.
He described a host of property crimes across the city, including multiple burglaries at his own store and the theft of his son’s bicycle, describing them as nuisance crimes driven by drug addiction and mental health problems.
“Our biggest challenge as a city — hands down, second place isn’t even close — is drug addiction and mental health, and it affects every part of our lives every day,” he said.
Shorette, 31, is making her second run for City Council after an unsuccessful bid in 2011. She serves as executive director of Launchpad, a nonprofit arts incubator in Bangor. She also is a small-business owner at The BETA Agency, a marketing agency in Bangor.
While Shorette also pointed to crime as the biggest challenge, she went on to say that extra police protection was not the answer. Instead, she said, the council must find a holistic solution that includes working to provide quality jobs for residents.
“I don’t think putting more police on the streets would really do much to solve it,” she said.
Paul LeClair also included crime and home invasion in a list of issues he said need to be addressed by the council. Other items included high property taxes and government transparency.
“I don’t believe the citizens and taxpayers of this city get to really know what’s going on with their tax dollars, and I believe they have a right to,” he said.
LeClair, 74, is well known at City Council meetings, frequently making use of the public comment periods to criticize council spending and policies.
Retired after nearly 20 years in customer service for Digital Equipment Corp. in Massachusetts, LeClair is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served during the Cuban missile crisis.
Meanwhile, Sarah Nichols said the biggest challenge is that working families are still struggling to get ahead.
She called for a minimum wage increase and an expansion of bus services to provide low-income residents better access to transportation.
“Despite our city’s growth, working families still struggle to access good-paying jobs,” she said. “To face this challenge, the City Council needs to support everyone in Bangor and not just certain populations. I believe that there is a disconnect between the council as a whole and working families in Bangor.”
Nichols, 25, serves as development coordinator for St. Joseph Healthcare.
In response to the same question, Bill Osmer called for increased development efforts as a means to bolster the city’s tax base.
While the population is steady, the tax base becomes more fragile as it ages and more residents are forced to live on fixed incomes, he said.
“Our largest single source of revenue is our property taxes,” he said. “If we want more money in the city coffers, we need to attract more residents and more businesses.”
Osmer, 35, is an instructor and adviser at the University of Maine. His platform addresses issues of drug abuse in the city, quality education and public spending.
Follow Evan Belanger on Twitter at @evanbelanger.