Bangor native Peter Baldacci is retiring after serving 36 years as a Penobscot County Commissioner.
Baldacci, 71, was first elected to his seat in 1988, and then elected eight more times to represent District 1, which covers Bangor, Brewer, Clifton, Eddington, Holden and Orrington.
“It’s been a privilege to serve through these decades as a commissioner for the county,” Baldacci told the Bangor Daily News. “I’ve really been impressed with the quality of the people who have worked at the county government.”
His departure at the end of this year comes after nearly four decades on the county commission, where he saw a slew of changes, including how the government serves its residents. His seat will be filled by Bangor City Councilor Dan Tremble, a Democrat, who beat Republican Cary Weston during the November election.
It was time for a change, Baldacci said. He’s closing his law office after 42 years and his wife, Debbie, also retired in the last few years. The couple have two kids and three young grandsons, with a granddaughter due in January.
The couple plans to move to southern Maine to be closer to their family, he said. Baldacci was born and raised in Bangor, so moving away after 71 years will be a change, though he plans to still keep his ties to the Queen City.
“[Retirement will] mostly be to spend time with my kids, my grandkids, stay involved in what’s going on with politics but more as an observer, maybe an occasional supporter,” Baldacci said.
When looking back on notable moments from his decades on the commission, Baldacci recalled that during his first years, the commissioners worked with municipalities directly. It could be hard as towns didn’t always want to work with elected officials out of fear of appearing partisan.
Creating the county administrator position helped alleviate the issue, Baldacci said. The administrator is non-partisan and works directly with towns, which improved the county’s working relationship with municipalities.
Baldacci also cited the “battle” to consolidate 911 dispatch into a regional center in 1997 instead of having individual towns do their own. He said Lincoln and Bangor didn’t want the dispatch center, but it was a necessary change because of the high cost for individual towns.
Penobscot Regional Communications Center answers 911 calls for every community and dispatches emergency response for all of them except Bangor.
“Now it’s a professional, highly regarded dispatch center that we do as part of our budget,” he said. “That’s saved thousands of dollars for all these towns.”
Knowing Tremble, who spent 12 years as the county’s treasurer, was running for the seat made Baldacci more comfortable with retiring, he said. Tremble knows the area well and has experience with how the county works.
“I’m very comfortable with the decision and that Dan Tremble will be taking my seat because I have a lot of confidence that he has common sense,” Baldacci said.
One of the biggest issues facing commissioners is the future of the county jail, Baldacci said. The Penobscot County Jail is in poor condition and he said it is not worth making repairs to the building, which was constructed in 1869.
County officials are trying to buy a piece of property for the new facility, but deciding on what the brick and mortar will be is just part of the issue, Baldacci said. As Tremble takes over, one of the things he and the commission need to address is the culture of the jail.
“How will it serve programming and be the most beneficial to the people in the jail,” Baldacci said. “Can we actually have it as a correctional facility, not just a lock up?”
