Dan Tremble walks down the hallway of City Hall after being selected as the new Bangor City Council chair on Monday. Credit: Natalie Williams / BDN

The Bangor City Council chose Councilor Dan Tremble to serve as its next chairperson after a swearing-in ceremony for two new councilors and one reelected incumbent on Monday morning.

Afterward, the Bangor School Committee chose Carin Sychterz as the group’s chairperson and Marwa Hassanien as its vice chair. Its members were divided on who should be vice chair, with four voting for Hassanien and three voting for Sue Sorg, who was reelected last week.

Timothy Surrette (left), Susan Sorg (center) and Clare Mundell are sworn in as Bangor school committee members on Monday. Credit: Natalie Williams / BDN

Tremble will replace Councilor Clare Davitt as the chairperson of the nine-member council. In that position, which comes with the ceremonial title of “mayor,” he’ll moderate and help set the agenda for council meetings while still voting on proposals as all councilors do.

Davitt was reelected to the council last week. She and two new members of the council who were also elected, Sarah Dubay and Jonathan Sprague, were sworn onto the council during the short meeting in council chambers, during which everyone wore face masks.

From left, Jonathan Sprague, Sarah Dubay and Clare Davitt take the oath of office for the Bangor City Council on Monday in this meeting screenshot. Davitt was elected to a second term in last week’s election, while Dubay and Sprague were elected to their first terms on the nine-member panel. Credit: Charles Eichacker / BDN

Afterward, Councilor Rick Fournier nominated Tremble to serve as chair, and the group unanimously selected the council veteran.

Tremble, 55, owns Fairmount Market on Hammond Street and the Ground Round Grill and Bar on Odlin Road. He is currently in the second year of a three-year term after previously serving on the council in the early aughts. He has also previously served as the Penobscot County treasurer and has described himself as “more fiscally conservative.”

In brief remarks, Tremble praised the work of city staff and officials to address weighty issues such as the public health and economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. While those challenges may seem vast, he expressed confidence that the city could make a difference in people’s lives.

“I’m sure many of Bangor’s best days lie ahead, he said. “I’ll do my best to represent the city every day.”

Tremble also said that the city is a service center that needs the help of other communities throughout the region to help address problems such as opioid addiction, homelessness and hunger, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

“We need regional collaboration to be successful,” he said.