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Richard Ward, a candidate for Bangor City Council, sums up what his approach will be as a council member on his campaign signs: “Ward Not Woke.” In other words, instead of being focused on economic development or supporting our schools or making Bangor a home to be proud of, he’ll apparently be focused on cultural battles related to gender, immigration, etc.
In remarks before the city council earlier this summer, Ward suggested that if the city didn’t buy pride flags there’d be monies for solving homelessness and drug addiction. He claimed that people voted for ICE taking our neighbors, in spite of the Maine Immigrant Legal Aid Project’s report that many of those being impacted by the abductions were “known to be in a lawful immigration process, have a valid work permit and no criminal record.” Ward is apparently in favor of deporting members of our community who work, pay taxes and make our communities stronger.
With Richard Ward as a councilor, I fear we will be assured of more hateful rhetoric and less focus on issues that matter to us as citizens of Bangor. The last thing Bangor or the world needs right now is another hate-filled heart.
Mary Ann Larson
Bangor
