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Bangor City Councilor Carolyn Fish describes coordinated emails and public testimony as “political pressure” rather than “civic engagement.” I think she’s making a false distinction. Organizing and advocating for community priorities is civic engagement.
Democracy requires us to show up and advocate for our beliefs. Given a proposal to eliminate the city’s Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights was published Friday with a Monday vote, so quickly that some councilors weren’t fully aware, residents responded with necessary urgency. Dismissing this participation as illegitimate “pressure” undermines the participatory process she claims to value. As a Bangor homeowner and taxpayer who supports the committee’s work, I find Fish’s framing dismissive of residents who took the time to engage.
City councilors represent all residents, including those who participate actively. Governing is inherently political. It’s about making choices that reflect our community values. I urge Councilor Fish to recognize organized community advocacy as democratic participation, not a problem to manage.
A great man once said, “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.” The Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights exists to help Bangor meet that measure. When organized advocacy is dismissed, we silence the very voices speaking up for our most vulnerable neighbors. Bangor has the capacity to do better, but only by recognizing residents who engage in good faith as part of the solution, not a problem to manage.
Mitchell Cooper
Bangor
