Bangor residents will have a chance to weigh in on multiple allegations of wrongdoing by city councilors at two upcoming public hearings on Dec. 3 and Dec. 17.
The city’s Board of Ethics has been tasked with investigating three potential violations that were raised in September during a chaotic period for the Bangor City Council.
The Board of Ethics set the public hearing dates during a meeting Wednesday, when members also discussed what information they would need to make determinations about the three ethics complaints.
The first complaint, raised by Councilor Joe Leonard, revolves around other councilors’ use of text messaging to discuss how they would punish Leonard for his public accusations in May against a former city employee.
Former Councilor Dan Tremble also initiated an investigation into Councilor Wayne Mallar’s behavior at an August Historic Preservation Commission meeting, and Mallar raised a complaint about Tremble’s circulation of an election petition for another councilor.
The four ethics board members present at Wednesday’s meeting — Michael Maberry, Stephen Brough, John King and Shane Leonard, the chair — decided to hold public hearings for the issues of text messages between councilors and petitions circulated on behalf of other councilors at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 3.
The public hearing on the complaint about Mallar’s behavior at the Historic Preservation Commission will be held at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17. The board members determined that this hearing could require more time than the others given the volume of evidence they are requesting, which is why they decided to set a different date for the hearing.
Members of the public and councilors alike have characterized the trio of ethics complaints as part of a larger picture of “bickering” among councilors.
The City Council voted to send all three complaints to the Board of Ethics in September.
Next, the board members will review records related to each complaint and request voluntary statements from people who were involved before eventually sending an advisory opinion back to the City Council.
“We don’t have any subpoena power. We’re just an advisory body,” said Shane Leonard, the board’s chair.
Until last month, the Board of Ethics had not met since February 2023.
