The Bangor Daily News is profiling all 12 Bangor City Council candidates ahead of the election this fall. Read more coverage of Bangor’s local election here.
A Bangor City Council candidate wants to make living in the Queen City more affordable, including by implementing rent control measures.
Adam Baker, 28, is a lifelong Bangor resident who works in retail and believes they’d bring a fresh perspective to the city council. Baker is poised to be one of the more progressive candidates in a large pool of people running for council this year.
Baker’s top priority is affordability and cost of living.
“Everybody deserves to have a chance at life and to be able to afford to live here in Bangor,” they said, noting that they sympathize with residents who want to stay in the city but feel they can’t afford it anymore.
Baker wants to focus on affordable housing initiatives and lessen the burden on residents and property owners, they wrote on their website.
“I believe we need rent control here in Bangor,” Baker, a renter, said. As a first step, they would make the city’s optional rental registry mandatory for landlords. They would then try to implement a rent freeze or rent control, they said.
Baker also wants to extend hours and bring back weekend service for the local bus system, changes that the city has struggled to implement amid an inability to retain drivers. The city council approved a fare hike this year but has not offered Saturday service since 2024, and buses stop running by 7 p.m. on weekdays.
“If the bus fare increases, they should get an increased service as well. And it also starts with paying our city staff a livable wage,” Baker said.
Baker serves on Bangor’s Advisory Committee on Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights and is a member of the Maine People’s Alliance, one of the state’s most prominent progressive political organizations. In one of the earliest alliances in this year’s council race, Baker announced a September campaign event with candidate Andrei Yermakov.
Baker also volunteers with Quality of Life Maine, a group that conducts weekly clean-ups around Bangor and distributes food and water, they said.
Baker is a registered Democrat but noted, “I’ve never really seen myself as one aligned to a party. I believe more so in universal human rights and just helping people.”
On the key issue of homelessness, Baker supports the housing first model, which they described as “giving these people a roof over their head while giving them support systems.” The federal government has recently worked to deprioritize such programs, but experts say it’s the best approach to addressing homelessness, as opposed to programs that require treatment or employment first.
“I believe housing is a human right,” Baker said, adding that they want the city to provide supportive services while getting people off the street and incorporate more low-barrier housing initiatives and programs for struggling tenants or people on the fringes of homelessness.
Baker also supports a sanctioned encampment, with regulations, as a first step toward addressing the city’s homelessness crisis.
Baker said they see addressing the city’s housing needs as the key to also resolving issues around needle litter and public drug use.
“I think that’s the number one goal. If we get them the support and housing that they need, then they won’t be out on the street displaying that,” they said, adding that while they support syringe service programs, “I believe ultimately the answer is getting these people housed.”
If elected, Baker also wants to expand the city’s public health department to coordinate a broader array of local social service providers and nonprofits under the umbrella of the city, they said.
That focus on public services translates to Baker’s outlook on the city budget. They said they’d want to be smart about trimming the budget where they can, but they also believe that investing in public services will help offset costs to the city in other ways.
“I think it’s worthwhile investing in those services and then showing the community that they are helping them and that it’s not a waste of money,” they said.
Baker, who estimated that they’ve attended at least 90% of the council’s meetings in the last year, also noted the infighting and ethics investigations that have consumed a substantial amount of council time this year. They said they’d want to avoid bickering among the council and foster open dialogue with the city’s residents.
“I’m just looking to represent everybody and not leave anybody behind,” they said.