The Bangor City Council on Monday censured one of its members for his comments toward two incoming councilors, marking the first censure of a city councilor in a decade.
The council voted 7-1 to censure Councilor Joseph Leonard for his comments toward incoming councilors Susan Deane and Carolyn Fish during the body’s last meeting on Nov. 13, the same day Deane, Fish and Leonard were sworn in.
At the time, Leonard said the two new councilors will need to work to build trust on the council following any potential involvement they had in a campaign prior to the election.
A censure is a formal statement of disapproval and does not carry any additional punishment, such as a fine or removal from council, according to David Szewczyk, Bangor city solicitor.
The first censure in a decade and infighting just two weeks into Bangor’s new council session doesn’t bode well for the group that has stated it has plenty of work to make progress on some of the city’s most pressing issues such as housing, homelessness and substance use.
Leonard was referring to an election campaign from a local political action committee, “Citizens for a Safer Bangor,” that promoted Deane and Fish. In election materials shared on Facebook, the PAC claimed Leonard, among other council candidates, would be “bad for Bangor” and cause more crime, homelessness and regulations and taxes.
Deane and Fish have said they had no involvement in the campaign and spoke out against the negative advertisements.
Leonard said on Nov. 13 that he forgives Fish and Deane for any involvement in the campaign they may have had, and that he will work with them “for the benefit of Bangor. He then added that the new councilors are “responsible for building trust on the council” and they “have some work to do in the coming years.”
Councilors Gretchen Schaefer and Rick Fournier introduced the move to censure Leonard during Monday’s city council meeting, stating that Leonard’s comments were “inappropriate, offensive, and disrespectful to the two incoming councilors.”
“It’s one thing to talk about the PAC . . . but to say, ‘I forgive you, but I know you did it even if you say you didn’t,’ is calling the two new councilors on this dais liars, and that’s patently unfair,” Schaefer said. “City council needs to be a collaborative effort, not a combative one and right out of the gate it was a combative welcome to this dais.”
Councilors argued that Leonard’s comments break Bangor’s code of ethics that require councilors to act in a way that “inspires public confidence in the integrity of the city’s government.”
“While elections are heated, rumors fly and things get said on all sides, to me, where the buck stops is right here on this dais,” Cara Pelletier, city council chair, said. “For a sitting councilor to use their position in front of a microphone to impugn the motives and reputations of two other sitting councilors is beyond what I think is appropriate for this body.”
In his 14 years on council, Councilor Dan Tremble said he can’t remember a time in which a council member “went after their fellow councilors in such a manner.”
“This was beyond the pale and I think it was so inappropriate,” Tremble said. “Hopefully we can get this behind us and move on because we have so much work to do. The citizens of Bangor need to have confidence in us that we can work together to get things done and not hold grudges.”
Dina Yacoubagha was the only councilor to vote against the censure, stating that Leonard had a right to be upset and express his thoughts, but shouldn’t have mentioned names in his statement.
Leonard was not permitted to vote on the censure and said he wasn’t notified of the move to censure him before the meeting.
When given a chance to respond to the censure, Leonard refused to apologize for his comments, but said he’s “ready to work with everyone on this council to address the major concerns and needs” in Bangor.
The last Bangor city councilor to be censured was in 2013 when then-Councilor Charlie Longo said “folks say [former Maine Gov. Paul LePage] hits the bars pretty heavy.”
The council chastised Longo at the time, stating his comments were “inappropriate, offensive and disrespectful of the governor.” Longo apologized for his comment following the censure.