Why we published this story
The BDN is exploring solutions to Maine’s biggest problems, from affordability to the housing crunch. In this story, Annie Rupertus examines a possible fix to Bangor’s unequal representation on City Council and what it would require. Send questions or ideas for follow-ups to arupertus@bangordailynews.com.
Where someone lives and how much money they make can give a Bangor City Council candidate certain advantages. But there are also ways that residents and officials can change the city’s voting and governance structures to better level the playing field.
A Bangor Daily News analysis of city councilor addresses over the last 25 years found that wealthier Bangor neighborhoods have been disproportionately represented in the city’s governing body during that time.
Residents, as well as current and former councilors, have suggested implementing a wards-based voting system. In that structure, some or all of the councilors are elected from specific districts to spread out the representation on council along a wider variety of neighborhoods. Maine’s third-largest city is the only major municipality without dedicated voting wards.
Others say raising the pay for councilors — which has been $2,000 per year for most of the 21st century — could help make the position more accessible for lower-income residents and people who need to work full-time.
Implementing either change would require a referendum vote. Changing the city’s election structure would also require a change to the charter, the city’s foundational legal document. Here’s what each of those changes would look like.
How could voting wards be implemented?
Changing the city’s voting system would be a lengthy process, as the charter mandates that all nine councilors be elected at large. This system has been in place since 1932.
First, the council would initiate a charter review committee. These committees, made up of city residents, are tasked with reviewing the entire charter and delivering a report to the council with recommendations for changes.
Any suggestions made by the charter review committee would then go to citizens in a referendum.
When’s the last time the charter was amended?
Bangor’s charter was last amended in 2010. That charter review was the city’s first in 21 years and took six months to complete before changes were presented to voters on the ballot that November. Voters approved eight changes, including changes to the process for recalling an elected councilor and barring family members of councilors from sitting on city boards.
How does the council raise its pay?
The council can raise compensation for its members through an ordinance, but a raise would have to be approved in a public referendum and then implemented in the following fiscal year, according to the charter.
The last pay raise for councilors was initiated by a citizen panel, although that is not required.
How often does the council get a raise?
The council last bumped up compensation for its members in 2001, raising stipends from $400 to $2,000 for regular members and $2,500 for the chair, according to BDN archives. Voters approved the raise with 67% in favor, and supporters echoed similar concerns to some present-day councilors about low pay shutting out qualified candidates.
“This will certainly open up the door for everyone to run, not just those who can afford it,” then-council chair John Rohman said at the time.
That raise didn’t take effect until after the 2004 election to ensure that current councilors wouldn’t benefit from the decision.
The only other raise was 50 years prior, in 1951 when pay was raised from nothing to $400.
Does the council plan to make any of these changes?
Councilor Joe Leonard, who has advocated for a new voting system and raising councilor pay, previously told the BDN he plans to bring up a proposal to initiate a charter review after this year’s budget season.
City Manager Carollynn Lear also said she believes raising pay could bring in representatives from a wider array of demographic groups.