The BDN will profile every Bangor City Council candidate in the coming months. If there are questions you want us to ask the candidates, contact arupertus@bangordailynews.com.
Twelve people qualified to run for three open seats on the Bangor City Council this year after the Tuesday deadline to return petitions. It’s the biggest candidate pool in at least 42 years.
The heightened interest in running for City Council comes after a tumultuous year as frustration has mounted around the council’s performance. This year’s slate has three more people than last year’s, which was already one of the most competitive races in recent history.
The candidates are Adam Baker, Anthony Cote, Katherine Devine, Terry Dinkins, Michael Furrow, James Gallagher, John King, Joe Leonard, Jennifer Maskala, Dawson Nevells, Joseph Pratt and Andrei Yermakov.
Notably, Leonard is the only sitting councilor running for reelection. Carolyn Fish and Susan Deane will depart when their terms expire in November.
Some candidates announced their bids for the coveted seats this spring, months before they could take out papers to run. Yard signs and campaign videos are already circulating around town and online.
Residents from across the political spectrum have packed council meetings in recent weeks, largely to criticize the city for inaction and to debate how it should address homelessness, drug use and needle waste. Meanwhile, sitting councilors have made little progress on their stated priorities of reducing homelessness and building more housing.
Nine candidates qualified for last year’s City Council race, including a known local neo-Nazi, among others. Homelessness was a top issue in the race, and three progressives endorsed by the labor-affiliated nonprofit Food AND Medicine swept the election.
This year’s School Committee election will be uncontested, with three candidates running for three open seats. Newcomers Jamie Beck and Emily Tilton qualified for the ballot, and current member Katie Brydon is seeking another term. Neither Shelly Okere nor Timothy Surrette, the board’s chair, is running for reelection.
Correction: An earlier version of this report gave an incorrect first name for Emily Tilton.