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.
Of the nine sitting Bangor city councilors, perhaps no one has drawn more attention than Joe Leonard.
The councilor has been censured three times and acquired a reputation as a polarizing personality. Some Bangor residents hate Leonard for his outbursts and feel he behaves inappropriately; others love him for his passion and willingness to stand by his beliefs.
Leonard is the only councilor running for reelection of the three whose terms are up this year. He gained his seat in a competitive special election in 2022 after two unsuccessful runs and won reelection in 2023.
“People want to see bold individuals that mean what they say and that actually want to do things, not just say things,” Leonard said. “And that’s me, at the end of the day.”
Leonard, 36, has lived in Bangor for nearly 10 years and works as an enrollment specialist for the clean energy company Ampion. He also works as a substitute teacher and tutor, and previously served as an Army National Guard officer, an artificial intelligence consultant and a manager for his family’s restaurant, Evenrood’s.
He also serves on the boards of Penquis CAP, a local anti-poverty nonprofit, and the Maine Rail Group.
Leonard is a Democrat but added that he considers himself a “Maine nationalist” and wants to prioritize Bangor residents regardless of political affiliation.
He knows he’s controversial, but Leonard said he’s running for council again because some constituents asked him too. He sees a lot of discontent among both Democrats and Republicans and said people want to see “that their local government actually works.”
His top priority if he wins reelection would be to change Bangor’s government structure by implementing voting wards and an elected mayor, goals he ran on when he was first elected.
Adding wards would improve representation, and having a full-time mayor with real executive authority would help the city more quickly address pressing issues, Leonard argued.
“We take too long to deliberate on issues,” he said of the council. “I think the people deserve to have a legislative arm of the city and an executive arm of the city. I think that’s a more effective government at the end of the day.”
Despite growing frustration around what many residents see as inaction on the council, Leonard said he thinks this past year has been more action-oriented than any other year he’s been on it.
“This was the most robust and progressive budget that the city of Bangor has seen in a long time,” he said of the budget council passed in June, noting the numerous new staff positions that were added. Leonard said he was particularly proud that the council added eight new firefighters.
“If I have it my way, I want to continue adding more positions to the city, because we need more services,” he said.
Leonard also wants to “figure out a way to expand where the money for our budget comes from,” such as enterprise funds. He said he’s interested in looking into municipally controlled energy.
He also wants the city to invest in housing and improve regional and state collaboration around homelessness.
Although the project drew backlash from a vocal group of residents, Leonard said he sees the Yellen Pines housing development for homeless residents, for which the council recently approved a tax reimbursement deal, as an example of cost savings for the city’s taxpayers. He often points to the high law enforcement and emergency services costs associated with homelessness.
Leonard also wants to build on the city’s Street Plus program by turning it into an in-house downtown ambassador program within a city department like public health or police, rather than one that is contracted out.
Unlike many other council candidates this year who are pushing for restrictive policies around syringe service providers, Leonard said he sees adding more syringe disposal boxes around the city as the appropriate solution for concerns around needle litter.
He also wants to ban automatic license plate readers and said he and other councilors are currently working on an ordinance that will do so.
Leonard’s been embroiled in a long list of controversies in his time on the council.
Most recently, he drew ire from some residents and in conservative media during a debate over Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. During a council meeting, Leonard blasted ICE and President Donald Trump, calling him a “rapist, pedophile, fascist president” and prompting a walkout by one of his colleagues on the council.
Leonard was censured in November for another outburst during which he raised his middle finger at a local neo-Nazi and threw a pen in response to racist, antisemitic comments made at a public meeting.
“I know I can be viewed as a bombastic person. I know that there are some people who don’t like that I go about politics the way that I do,” he said at the time. “But I refuse to accept any criticism over denouncing and defying Nazism.”
He was also censured for what the council determined to be “inappropriate” accusations he made against a city employee in a public meeting last year, and for comments he made about two colleagues on the council.
The accusations against former finance director David Little cost the city nearly $100,000 in severance pay and legal fees, and an independent investigation found that the finance department was allocating resources fairly, contrary to Leonard’s claims.
Does Leonard have any regrets about his behavior on the council?
“No, not a single one,” he said.
Leonard knows he’s a contentious figure. He’s “received a death threat or two,” he said with a laugh. But, “I’m an action-oriented guy and I’m not going to pretend that I’m going to be okay with council doing nothing,” he said.
He added, “And on the throwing the pen at the Nazi thing, if people really have an issue with me doing that, okay. I mean, I’m not going to apologize.”