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Peter Ramsay is a Bangor resident living in an unrepresented section of the city.
As we approach the end of 2025, our least favorite season is upon us. No, it isn’t a blustery fall or snowy winter that causes concern to many Mainers. After all, Mother Nature is, if anything, consistent. This fifth season is an oddity as it doesn’t carry the weight of 50 inches of snow or the worry of an over-worked sump pump. No, this season is the off-year election season.
This is the election season that allows a small percentage of voters to determine the make-up of our city council and school board. It is the election that will determine how you will get to vote in the future and if you have an additional blanket of protection from an armed, angry family member. While the statewide referendums may bring in more voters, it is the councils and boards that determine what this election will really cost.
Bangor has nine people competing for three seats on the city council. Some voters will enter the voting booth with a general idea as to who deserves their vote. But many will vote the old-fashioned way — Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo. Just don’t pick Mo; you can only vote for three. Some will look at the ballot and ask, “Where is my representative?” “Who represents my neighborhood?”
A city as large as Bangor elects all council members ” at large,” meaning the councilor living in the Tree Streets, Fairmount or Little City represents all of Bangor. As long as the candidate lives in Bangor, why does this matter?
Nearly all of the council and the candidates live in these three enclaves of the city. Do they represent all of the city or their neighborhood? Do they knock on doors in Capehart or Outer Union Street for votes? Do they know how the mother of three gets their kids to the doctor by bus? Have they talked to the 75-year-old retiree in Bangor Gardens as to how she is going to pay this year’s taxes?
An “at large” moniker can offer the candidate and elected official an out. It justifies the excuse, “Well, I can’t be everywhere for everyone.” To a certain extent, this is true. And if it is true, how do we bring the city at large to the table.
I think the Bangor City Council is an antiquated system. Nine people from basically three neighborhoods, determine the cost of living in Bangor. These same nine people “elect” the council chair that acts as mayor when the need arises.
The council does not really make policies. Policies are crafted by department heads and the city’s legal team. The council merely votes on the policies. Department heads request funding for infrastructure, salaries or expenditures that representatives from these three neighborhoods generally approve, yet we all pay for at large.
Bangor is a service city of roughly 32,000 people. The population has been stagnant for years. The industrial and commercial growth potential mirrors this stagnation. Yet the city seems determined to spend our way to prosperity. I believe Bangor needs to accept the reality of the times and streamline the way we govern.
I think establishing six districts throughout the city for council representation would be a good start. Replacing the city manager with an elected mayor that will act as the council chair and voting tiebreaker could help streamline the government and could cut costs. Promoting from within would also save money as taxpayers would no longer be paying thousands of dollars to headhunters every time the city manager needs to be replaced.
Bangor has a beautiful historical district. It is a shame that our city government and its elected officials are stuck in the past as the future slips by.
