Two candidates for Bangor City Council had liens filed against them or their businesses in the last two months for unpaid taxes, documents show.
Salty Brick Market, which is owned by council candidate James Gallagher, owes nearly $22,000 to the Maine Revenue Service in unpaid sales and use taxes, while candidate Angela Walker owes about $1,700 in unpaid income taxes, according to publicly available documents from the Penobscot County Registry of Deeds.
Gallagher and Walker both had liens filed against them by the state during their City Council candidacy and just weeks before the election. The two are members of a large pool of nine aspiring councilors competing for Bangor residents’ support ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
Gallagher has frequently spoken about crime and the problems he sees downtown as a business owner, while Walker is one of two candidates with criminal records.
Three liens were filed against Salty Brick Market in May 2024, July 2025 and October 2025. The latter two notices, which make up the bulk of money owed, were filed after an alleged arson on the upper floor of the market’s building and the resulting water sprinkler damage destroyed the store.
Gallagher attributed the unpaid taxes to an insurance dispute that’s been ongoing since then, saying the business is working to solve what he has described as an “insurance mess.”
“The state of Maine knows that,” he said, adding that he’s been in communication with the government about the circumstances.
The 2024 lien, which listed about $2,000 in unpaid taxes, was filed before the December 2024 fire.
“It all stems from the crime that happens downtown,” Gallagher said when asked about the lien that predated the fire. “We got a little behind,” he said, adding that the fire compounded existing financial strain.
The lien against Walker was filed in September.
“Yes, I owe back taxes,” she said, noting that she is working with Maine Revenue Services to resolve the issue. “As we all know, times have been tough for many, and I am no exception. Just like many do, I am working through a payment plan to get caught up on bills.”
