About 20 people gathered in Bangor’s West Market Square Monday morning for an event kicking off Jonathan Bush’s advertising campaign around this year’s city council race.
Some were there to support the wealthy tech entrepreneur and other Republicans who spoke about getting more conservative candidates elected, while others were skeptical of the introduction of outside money and influence to what’s officially a nonpartisan local election.
The influx of cash could have a significant impact on a race that doesn’t typically see much attention from outside the Bangor area.
Bush, a Cape Elizabeth resident and cousin of former President George W. Bush who made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Maine this year, announced last week that he plans to pour $100,000 into local elections in Bangor, Lewiston and Waterville through his nonprofit, Maine for Keeps.
The group has already rolled out more than 10 social media ads, according to the Meta ad library, mostly targeting issues like rising taxes and crime. Residents can also expect to see the group’s ads on streaming services, according to Bush.
In a speech Monday, Bush criticized harm reduction and the Yellen Pines housing development in Bangor and emphasized the need for economic growth in Maine.
“I think that Maine for Keeps should be spending its money on the place where it can get the most leverage, and that to me is in city councils,” he said. Bush previously told the Bangor Daily News he chose the three target cities because he didn’t think it was feasible for his preferred candidates to win in Portland.
He noted Monday that while he thinks most Bangor city councilors mean well, he’s worried by their approach to the city’s issues.
Jim Deyermond, chair of the Maine Republican Party and a Sanford resident, was harsher in his criticism of the councilors, painting a bleak picture of the city.
“I’m here today to support Mr. Bush and all the friends around that I see here today to take back this city council, to get rid of the crazy people that are in charge of the city and to put sane Republicans, conservatives on this city council,” Deyermond said, pointing to issues like syringe litter and policing. “People have to be arrested many times, and have to be put in custody and then forced to go to rehab,” he said.
He blamed addiction issues on Democrats, saying, “The Democrats made it a political issue by doing nothing to help this. They’re making it worse, and you need to take back your cities or there will be no cities to take back in America.”
MaryAnn Larson, a resident who attended the event, said she was unhappy with that rhetoric, which she saw as an “oversimplification of the drug issue,” pointing out that none of the speakers mentioned the Sackler family or the larger opioid epidemic.
While multiple speakers criticized the Yellen Pines housing development, which will house 30 chronically homeless residents when it opens, Larson said she appreciates the project because it means that “we’re doing something. For so long, nothing’s been done.”
On the other hand, some residents were excited to see the attention on Bangor’s election.
“This is fantastic,” Irv Masters, owner of the Bangor Letter Shop, said after the event, sporting a red Bobby Charles hat.
Masters said his business on Washington Street has had several encampments right outside, and that he’s frustrated by the “inaction of the city council” on issues like homelessness and addiction. He said he’s been knocking doors for council candidates Joseph Pratt and Terry Dinkins.
His excitement encapsulated a growing frustration among many residents, particularly business owners, with the Bangor City Council over its inability to address persistent challenges like the city’s homelessness crisis. Meetings have been packed in recent months, and a record 12 candidates are running for three open seats.
Although Maine for Keeps doesn’t plan to endorse council candidates, Bush has said he will do so personally, and he was joined at the event by Philip Henry, whose political action committee has endorsed Pratt and Dinkins, as well as Anthony Cote.
Henry also criticized Yellen Pines in a speech and talked about public drug use and understaffing in the Bangor Police Department. The local real estate investor and principal officer for the Concerned Citizens of Bangor PAC said he moved to Bangor because of its safety, affordable housing and good schools but now worries that his children won’t be able to enjoy those things in the city.
Several candidates running for council have denounced Bush’s involvement in the race.
Candidate John King attended Monday and said he thinks the focus should be on residents, not outside political influences or partisanship.
“This is just proving that it’s now become a partisan election,” King said.
Andrei Yermakov also attended and expressed similar concerns, as did Dawson Nevells in a Facebook post this weekend. Both are also running for council.
“I believe that the people of Bangor should decide the future of Bangor,” Nevells said. “Not political parties, not outside political interests, and not whoever has the deepest pockets.”
Jonathan Bush is known for co-founding Athenahealth in the 1990s and has had a growing presence in Maine politics since moving to Cape Elizabeth in 2021.
Vincent Harris, a strategist for the Charles campaign who’s also worked for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and a pro-Trump SuperPAC, is overseeing the Maine for Keeps local election project.