Bangor voters elected newcomers Carolyn Fish and Susan Deane to the city council, and chose to give incumbent Joseph Leonard another three-year term on Tuesday.
Fish garnered the highest vote total among the eight candidates, winning 3,151 votes. Deane won 2,634 and Leonard claimed 2,448, according to City Clerk Lisa Goodwin.
Candidates Morgan Urquhart won 2,271 votes, Phillip Henry won 2,254, and Michael Beck claimed 2,184.
Kimberly Boucher and Harold Wheeler earned 1,663 and 1,248 votes, respectively.
The three winners will each serve a three-year term, and will be sworn into office next Monday.
Eight people ran for three seats on the city council, making it a competitive race. Councilors Clare Davitt and Jonathan Sprague did not seek to be reelected, but Leonard ran for another term after being elected in June 2022 during a special election.
Candidates named homelessness, affordable housing, public safety and economic growth as their top-of-mind issues, but had varying ideas for how to make progress on those topics.
“I appreciate everyone who voted for me and what I stand for,” Deane said. “I’m looking forward to joining the council, working with the other councilors and making a difference.”
Prior to the election, Deane said she would look for ways to stop the influx of homeless people coming to Bangor for help while addressing those who are already here. Those efforts could be coupled with encouraging more housing, especially affordable housing, to be added to Bangor’s housing stock.
Fish, however, said she’s interested in creating a task force with council members, city leaders, first responders and outreach workers to identify where people who are homeless in Bangor are coming from. This could lead to a program, she said, that unites unhoused people with their communities and support systems.
In his campaign, Leonard listed the need for more housing, tackling infrastructure projects like improving roads and public transportation, and improving the local health care system to support people who are homeless and actively using substances as his three priorities.
Moving forward, Leonard said he would also encourage the city to work with leaders from surrounding communities and the county to take a unified approach to address shared challenges.
“I’m happy that Bangor citizens want me to continue serving the city that I love,” Leonard said. “I’m glad to be a part of this good team of individuals and I’m looking forward to finding solutions with our new councilors to the most pressing problems our city faces.”
