Five candidates vie for vacant Bangor City Council seat at League of Women Voters forum

[0:13] Barbara McDade: Good evening. My name is Barbara McDade, and I'm with the League of Women Voters of Maine, Bangor area. Yes, thank you. We are hosting this candidates form tonight for the empty, the vacancy on Bangor City Council. The term will run until November 2023. We have five candidates running for the position, and we are all masked because of the pandemic, but we have headshots of everyone, and they will be on the Facebook page tomorrow. I'd like to just go over some of the ground rules for tonight's forum. All participants will refrain from personal attacks and will focus on the issues. The candidates will observe all time limits. Each candidate will have three minutes for an opening statement. Candidates drew for the order that they will answer the first question. After the opening statements, the moderator will shuffle the order the candidates speak so no candidate is always first. Each candidate will have two minutes to answer, to present a closing statement. And the first question has been prepared in advance. The candidates will be timed by a volunteer. Questions from the audience must be submitted in writing. And Valerie Carter is back there. She has index cards and a pen. So if you write your question and they give it to her, she will bring it up to me. We did get questions beforehand go through me, through the League website, and through the city website. A question may be posed to a single candidate, but all the candidates will be given an opportunity to comment or respond to the question. I think that's all that we need to now. Oh, please, from the audience. No more personal video taping or audio taping of the candidates. This will be running on the city Facebook page, and on its other communications and broadcast on its cable television network. I will tell you the each candidate will give it, be given 3 min for an introductory statement. Then each candidate will be given 2 min to answer the prepared question, and then that will be followed by the questions from the public, and candidates will be given 2 min to answer each of the public's questions. After the public a question, each candidate will be given two minutes for a closing statement, and we will end, whether we have used all the audience questions or not, at eight o'clock. So we will begin, we will begin in alphabetical order for each candidate to give their introductory statement, and it's three minutes, and Stephen, if we could start with you, Stephen Bro. Good evening, I'm Stephen Bro. [3:39] Michael Mayberry: And I'm running for City Council to represent the forgotten people of our city, the taxpayers. In the last four years, nearly every person I spoke with feels City Council just doesn't consider them. They set the budget mill rate without regard to what the increased taxes do to the fixed income seniors, the disabled, and the young family just trying to afford their first homes. Bangor is simply getting too expensive for these people. I want to put the city council on a diet like a salary cap in pro sports. We have a mill rate of $22.30 per thousand at 100 percent valuation and it's going up for the new budget. I want to cap it except for cost of living adjustments for city employees and less by voter approval on specific items put out by council for voters to decide themselves. We know how much money we can spend based on current valuation and council can only spend that much, plus the COLA, period. Juggle the budget line items to fit under that cap. Any items that won't fit must be sent out for voter approval. Nine people shouldn't be the sole deciders of any tax increase. You, the voter, should. Let your vote count as much as mine. It's time for change to make your voice heard, and I have a plan to do just that. That. I'll give voters greater authority and incentive to show up and vote on their tax dollars. We had 13% voter turnout in 2019. While I and other candidates were surprised, the city clerk wasn't. We can and must do better. And I've heard the comments and concerns that could cause my taxes to go up or my project won't happen. My response is simply not if you and like-minded friends and neighbors show up and vote. I'll be the voice of the individual taxpayer, personal or business. I'm here to listen to what you feel is our highest priority. What can we afford with inflation on food, gas, taxes, heating oil, and electricity? Don't forget people on fixed income are struggling worse than all of us, and renters will feel this cost passed on by their landlords. Affordable housing will all but disappear. Appear. I'll listen to you first on what the cap rate is spent on, then let voters decide anything else. That's the message I used to get on the ballot this spring. Two questions. Does council try to communicate with you? Can you even name all the current eight? If you can't, that's a marketing problem going beyond their own circles. I'm different, I listen, and it's time for change. Looking out for seniors, the disabled, young families, and giving voters more control over their taxes. That's who I am. I want to hear from you as your next city counselor on Messenger at Stephen M Bro for Bangor City Council. Message phone 207-735-6130. Email Stephen Bro for Bangor City Council at outlook.com. Thank you, thank [6:43] Barbara McDade: you very much. I really like the candidates to make sure their microphone is on. There's a button to push on your microphone and a green light will come on when you're ready to speak. Joseph Leonard. [6:58] Unidentified candidate: Thank you. I want to thank the League of Women Voters for organizing this forum. I know there was a lot of last minute changes leading up to this forum and I really appreciate your hard work to make this night possible. And for everyone watching this forum and attending here, I want to thank all of you for your participation viewing this forum tonight. My name is Joseph Leonard and I want to represent you in these council chambers. I love Bangor and I want to offer my servitude to this city. I grew up here and graduated from John Bass Memorial High School in 2008. Afterwards, I moved on to study at the University of Maine in Orono. I also joined the ROTC program at the University of Maine, where I graduated in 2012 and commissioned as an officer in the United States Army. I spent the majority of my working adult life in the United States Army, where I focused on leading soldiers on multiple missions that required heavy amounts of planning, logistical cooperation, time management, and as a leader, developed a work philosophy that encourages working smarter over working harder. I am very proud of the work that was achieved and feel honored to have been awarded multiple times for my service, yet I know success is only achievable with the help, insight, and experience of everyone involved. And that important lesson is why I want to be your counselor. I do not want to be a leader of this community for the sake of being a leader. I know how to lead. Leadership is representing the ideas, plans, and experiences of everyone. One Bangor deserves to have its citizens properly represented, which is why I believe Bangor deserves to have a clear representation by introducing words for city council races and also being able to vote for a city mayor. Every issue that we discussed tonight is directly related to that single issue, that Bangor does not have proper executive representation in this city. If you want a city councilor who's going to fight for your right to have your opinions to be better represented in a democratic process, then you need to vote for Joseph Leonard on June 14th. Thank you very much. Thank you, Michael Mayberry. Thank you all. Hello to all watching tonight in the audience and virtually. I appreciate your attendance tonight. I first wanted to thank the League of Women Voters of Maine for sponsoring tonight's candidate forum. It's a pleasure to be here. I appreciate being able to share my thoughts on the great city of Bangor in the future I envision if elected. I appreciate that I'm able to stand here, sorry, well sit here actually with my fellow candidates after having spoken to so many residents within the city about my stances and I'm now able to share them with this greater audience. I've always had a passion for local government. And as a parent, I wanted to show my son the importance of getting involved when you have the desire to help. Thank you, Stephen, for bringing up young families. This is an important issue in this city. As a young family myself, I have a lot of background and expertise and passion for this particular area. I'm also someone who is originally from Maine, have lived in various areas up and down the eastern seaboard before settling here in Bangor. I truly believe in this community because I want to and I live here and I'm dedicated to it as well. My background in education provides me with the foundation for creative solutions and what I believe to be the most important focal points for individuals to be successful within communities. I believe that city council is most effective when it elevates all Voices and perspectives. My goal would be to listen and understand the needs of all citizens within the city. In my travels collecting signatures to get on the ballot, I heard some common themes and concerns, and or expert expectations of counselors communication, the needing to be clear and transparent and more frequent in communication, affordable housing, wrap around city resources, and refocusing efforts and advancements back to our neighborhoods. There has been a great deal of emphasis on redevelopment of downtown, and the residents that I spoke with wanted more attention paid to their own neighborhoods. If elected, my work would be emphasizing solutions that focus on the folks who live within these residential areas, as they best understand their individual communities. This is not to say that there isn't a consideration for downtown businesses, but I would hope to bring residential areas back to the forefront of conversations. My conversations with residents centered on feelings forgotten in the focus of business development. It is often as simple as more attention paid to parks, sidewalks, and roads. Often these interests and issues are interconnected. For instance, housing affordability in Bangor forces individuals and families who would enjoy the entertainment and access to resources into surrounding communities. Cities. This often makes it difficult to work in Bangor, and this lack of employees has been seen to hurt local businesses and other companies that rely on our labor force. As well, Bangor as a city is a hub for Eastern Maine, and we should be advocating at the state level for more resources to ensure that we have the tools to assist those in need. This includes our police, social services, and local agencies. In closing. [12:31] Daniel Smith: Hi, my name is Daniel Smith. I want to thank the League of Women Voters for having me here tonight, and I also want to thank Sarah Dubay for her service to the city of Bangor and the city council. I wish we didn't have to be here tonight to pill her seat. With that being said, I am a citizen of Bangor. I was born and raised in Bangor. I've lived here my whole life. I went to Bangor schools, and I had two sons that went to Bangor schools. From what I'm hearing so far, I could tell you the solution. Look there's nothing, there's no problems, there's only solutions, okay? And one of the biggest solutions that we could do, it's called a citizen satisfaction survey, and they do work. You could check it under Clearpoint Strategy. There's many benefits to it. I was a member of the 1979 state championship team at Bangor High School. We took the state 42-8. We sang that all the way home. I love Bangor. Bangor has some of the greatest people in the world, and I mean that sincerely, and some of the smartest people in the world. Okay, we can draw from that. We need to unify. We need unity in Bangor. And I also want to say that in the multitude of council, there is safety. I want to say that again. In the multitude of council, there is safety. I appreciate what the city council does. Okay. We have some trying times coming. We all see it. Okay. We got to work together we got to unify we see the high prices out there the gas prices inflation we know what's coming down the road they're talking about recession okay so we've got to we got to put our heads together and come up with a plan i can do that i've owned businesses in bangor okay i've managed businesses okay i just want to give back to the community that gave to me my whole life. I had great teachers, great coaches, great friends, teammates. I love Bangor. I bleed crimson and white. I know they call it cardinal and white now, but to me it's crimson and white. So I know together that the city of Bangor can come up with solutions to move us forward in the future and that's why i'm asking for your vote to be put on the bangor city council thank you thank you tyler well good evening thank you to barbara [15:38] Unidentified candidate: and the league of women voters for sponsoring this candidate forum thank you to nancy our time keeper here tonight special thanks to my partner rebecca smart who's been my rock during this campaign couldn't couldn't have done it without you rebecca and thanks for coming out here tonight i want to thank the city of bangor for each of the space here tonight and thanks to each and every one of you who came out here tonight both in person and online on facebook to learn more about us the candidates who are vying for the open position on your city council i hope i can earn your vote with my unique vision for bangor tonight i'd like to start off by recognizing sarah dubay our former city councilor who we tragically lost this past year my sincere condolences to her husband and family. No one can fill her shoes, and I hope to follow in her footsteps in the legacy she left on our community as an organizer who loved her city and gave a voice to all the people of Bangor. Again, my name is Tyler Rowe, and I look forward to representing you on City Council. I've been talking to so many of you over the past few months, and we've had lots of great conversations at your doorsteps, at our comprehensive plan meetings and our city visioning sessions that the city planning officer Anne Craig has been hosting. So thank you, Anne. I've learned so much from so many of you. We've shared some laughs, casual talk about sports, the Celtics recently, you know, our weather, and most importantly, our ideas for how to continue to make Bangor a great place to live for all of us. I've listened to you as you've shared your highlights of what makes Bangor are great our amazing schools our beautiful neighborhoods our lovable and walkable downtown in our culture we're a city that affords us lots of opportunity while maintaining that small town vibe that so many of us enjoy. I've listened to you as you've shared your concerns about the shortage of housing in the city, the lack of affordable homes and rentals, and the associated homelessness issue, and your concerns about some of our basic infrastructure needs. I'd be honored to serve you as we build a city where young people can graduate from our local high schools and colleges and feel like Bangor affords them the opportunity to get a well-paying job. Where young people, where people young and old can start a business like I did. Where existing businesses can expand their services. And while a lot of people work in Bangor, we have been losing population. As your city councillor, I have several proposals that I'll talk about tonight to address our population loss and increase our tax base so that Bangor continues to be a hub for eastern and central Maine. As I said before, I'm a business owner. I started a delivery business in March of 2020 as covet started sweeping through our country and our city. I started this business because I saw a need and wanted to meet the needs of my community and a community that changed drastically in the spring of 2020. I'm an experienced leader. I've held many management positions with several companies and I have a finance back background ground working with people buying their homes for the first time, working as a lender with businesses to start or expand their reach. And on June 14th I hope you'll vote Tyler Rowe problem solver and [18:40] Barbara McDade: A man who loves his city. Thank you very much. Now we will switch and have the candidates answer the question, what do you think is the most pressing problem the city is currently facing, and what do you think some viable solutions are? And Mike Mayberry, could you go first? [19:06] Unidentified candidate: Thank you. So I believe that affordable housing, I believe that affordable housing is one of the top issues facing the city of Bangor in this moment. I truly believe I've worked in education in student housing for almost 15 years now. I've worked with students who to try to move off campus, find it difficult to live in the local community here in Bangalore, but elsewhere. Having a roof over your head is priority number one. That is what people need to be successful and what we're finding difficult to do here in the city of Bangalore. I think I have a couple of ideas that highlight some efforts that I hope would alleviate some of this concern. I think that having folks who live in residential areas have more resources to rent to provide affordable housing within their own areas rather than individuals who buy property from out of state who are landlords in name only who do not keep their properties who find it difficult to ensure the safety of their property. It makes for our property values to decrease at times and makes it challenging to live in the city. Also, it's really not affordable in many ways to be a citizen here in Bangor because of that housing cost and likely pushes folks out and drives folks to not maybe work here in the city which is a challenge. I think that there is a gap between rent costs and amenities and we need to focus on keep keeping investing in properties as well as holding landlords accountable to their concerns from the neighbors in the neighborhoods. I think we should be working with local and state agencies to address rental assistance and providing assistance in becoming a landlord yourself. I think the solutions are within our neighborhoods, and the people who live in this city know how to fix it. And my goal as your city counselor would be to help you find that solution. [21:24] Barbara McDade: Next, Joseph Leonard. Do you need me to repeat the question? [21:28] Unidentified candidate: No. So, besides fighting to make Bangor's elections more representative, Bangor, like many cities across the country, needs to address its infrastructure issues, such as economic infrastructure, which is incorporating roads, sidewalks, maintenance, and small business support. Technical infrastructure, such as evolving the city's website, developing city mobile apps for smartphones, and moving toward affordable universal internet access, and three, human infrastructure, such as expanding social services, providing more police training, expanding public housing, and creating more public programs with good paying jobs. Achieving these major goals related to infrastructure can only be done when we work together as a community. Bangor pride itself and being a city that has been self-reliant, dependable, and filled with hard-working people, and in that time Bangor has been pivotal in growing its surrounding towns to prosperity. So many towns around the area have increased their populations, and that is solely because we act as the central hub here in Bangor. And much like military leadership, these goals can be effective when we have proper representation at a diplomatic level. If these issues that I just talked about are to be properly addressed with expediency, we must evolve and give Bangor the proper representation it needs by having an elected mayor and having City Councils that have Ward districts. No changes come easily, but I will fight hard to make sure Bangor's voters have the representation they deserve. [23:21] Barbara McDade: Thank you. Thank you, Tyler Rowe. What do you think is the most pressing problem the city is currently facing? [23:29] Unidentified candidate: And what do you think some viable solutions are? Many Bangor residents and myself agree that the shortage of housing in Bangor is one of our biggest challenges at the moment. I have two major proposals to address this issue, and the first one's fairly simple. In conjunction with our city staff and zoning board, we can address some of our current and re-examine our existing zoning regulations and adopt more of a mixed use approach to our zoning. This will allow businesses to more ably coexist with existing residential areas and allows to develop more residential spaces, where there are businesses currently, specifically in our downtown. My other major proposal is a something I'm calling the building a better Bangor program. And this would, as many of you know, Bangor's received a kind of a one-time use 20 million dollars in covered relief funds, and my proposal is to allow up to 200 grants of 100,000 each. You heard that right, 100,000 each, with priority given to Bangor residents and regional residents to build, expand, and develop new four plus unit rental properties. We have a housing shortage, and only way to deal with that issue and to bring the cost of renting and living in Bangor is to increase the supply of our rental properties. Bangor has ample areas that are undeveloped or underdeveloped to accommodate these new structures that would at a minimum add 800 new households to our diminishing housing stock. Bangor's job growth has been five to six percent over the last decade, yet we've lost five to six percent of our population. We need to reverse that, expand our tax base, and allow more residents to get into a home cheaply and affordably. We can work in conjunction with the city council, our planning boards, and our local financial institutions to bring this a reality. We had a similar program on a residential side of things when I was a banker myself and a mortgage lender. We can use these funds to greatly increase the stock of housing and attract 100 million dollars plus to the city of Bangor. Thank you. Thank you. Daniel Smith. [25:52] Daniel Smith: Thank you very much. Those are all great proposals. But I want to talk about what's going on right now in Bangor and across this country. Inflation. Okay, the cost of living, the cost of goods and services, that's that's got to be priority if you want to win. Okay, it stands for what's important now. Okay, we need to help the people of Bangor with some of these costs. Okay, look at all the houses that are being foreclosed upon. On, okay, the high taxes, okay, the high cost, they can't afford it. The last report came out, they're spending an extra fifty two hundred dollars a year right now. I don't have an extra fifty two hundred dollars a year. Now I've lived in Bangor all my life. Yes, Bangor is sitting on 20.4 million dollars that they got from the treasury. Okay, I say you use that have to help the citizens of Bangalore who are struggling. Okay, that's what I say. And the other thing is to support your local police department. Okay, we have to make sure that the police department is funded. That's critical. Our public works, our emergency personnel, our first responders. Okay, we all know when things get tough, what happens? People get desperate okay it's this is real this is what's happening now this is okay yeah everybody needs affordable housing i agree 100 but right now listen the issue now is let's help people with the high cost of living thank you very much and [27:48] Barbara McDade: I'm sorry Stephen, I've got people out of order. [27:54] Michael Mayberry: Our most pressing issue isn't just a Bangor one, but we're the place that feels its largest long term effects as county seat with a location for the jail and court system, and will be far in the future. The need for a new county correctional facility is long overdue. The where and what its function will be is to be determined, but the need is growing daily. This building can't be patched together like the recent elevator and door control panels were. Sheriff Morton budgeted nearly a million dollars this year for housing and other jails due to our overcrowded and inadequate facility. I've talked to him, Chiefs Hathaway and Moffitt of Bangor, Brewer PD, and they all have stories of people in mental health or drug-related crises and nowhere to go with them, yet they can't leave them where they are. Many times the only place is the ER at St. Joe's or Northern Light. Neither ER is really equipped to handle those crises, and there have been assaults on the staff at both hospitals, so the person is arrested and put in jail with no access to the help they need. Arrestees are asked if they have a substance abuse disorder, and 47 percent of them say yes. Chief Moffitt was frustrated at picking up someone with multiple theft warrants and calling around to find a place to house them. Legalizing marijuana was touted as the cure for overcrowding, and it didn't work. Criminal justice and bail reform only goes so far. Turning violent or flight risk offenders out on low to no bail is a short-term solution that puts the public at the same risk as before the arrest. Our jail is overcrowded and inefficient, yet made worse by pandemic-caused court case backups. As residents of Bangor, we must support our sheriff and police departments and force the issue to the county and state and U.S. representatives of funding a new facility that has incarceration for those that need it and secure treatment for those that wind up getting worse before they can hope to get better. Quoting Chief Moffitt, doing something comes with a cost, but doing nothing also comes with a price. Thank you very much. [30:01] Barbara McDade: We will now go to public questions. Most of the questions I have right now were submitted. So this is the question I am going to start with, and Tyler, I think I'll start with you. Do you believe the city has an obligation to provide safe and secure dwellings for all homeless persons? And if yes, by what date do you think this the city should commit to bring this about? [30:37] Unidentified candidate: Up, thank you for the question, Barbara. I think I think it's a city job to create an environment where we can increase the housing stock. I talked about my building a better Bangor program that would use these one times funds that came federally to spur development in this housing sector. So I think it's the city of Bangor's job to take a comprehensive look at our zoning policies. Certainly we want to lend a hand up to anyone and I think all of you in this community want don't want to see people unhoused. You know we know that there's a myriad of problems that people who are unhoused in our community face, from drug use, mental illness, maybe they drew a bad you know card in life and they were dealt a bad hand, but we all want to see them get back on their feet, earns earn a paycheck and have some stable housing. The way we can do that again is to be a community that is seeking that investment for more housing. We're losing population and our housing stock has actually decreased in the last 10 years. So I will urge you check out my website rowforbangor.com, also facebook.com slash row for bangor, that's r-o-w-e. You'll I'll be detailing a presentation of my proposal for how to use those 20 million dollars and increase our housing stock so we can meet the needs of our community, for those working in Bangor, for those who are currently unhoused in Bangor and may not have a job. It's it's a multi-faceted issue but the big place that as your city councilor I can make a real difference is to attract that investment in affordable housing. Thank you. [32:17] Barbara McDade: Thank you Stephen Bro. Do you want me to repeat the question? Yes, okay. Do you believe the city has an obligation to provide safe and secure dwellings for all homeless persons and if yes by what date do you think the city should commit to achieve this [32:42] Michael Mayberry: Well, our city is in, as far as our buildings go, many of them are in decay. As I drive up and down Union, Ohio, and the lower sections of the city, yes, I do see buildings dying, buildings in decay, buildings that have been cut up years ago and made into affordable housing to try to increase, increased the housing stock 25 to 30 years ago. When we look at the overall effect of what was done then, and you look at the buildings, can we say that has really worked? What I would encourage is a public and private partnership to be able to expand into more of the rural areas of the city, more multiple use dwellings and more small homes, tiny homes if you will, smaller short-term rentals, and we can't also forget people all the time talk about sustain, affordable housing, there has been very little talk on sustainable housing, green housing, house lots large enough to be able to provide food for the individuals. I for one would like to see more in development of community gardens. Along that line, do we have an absolute moral obligation? Yes, to be able to help people along. We cannot provide all things for all people, sadly we don't. We 're a working class town. We don't have the infinite resources to be able to do that. Working with the State to be able to leverage some money would be wonderful. I would love to see more of that happen. [34:34] Barbara McDade: Thank you, Mike Mayberry. [34:38] Unidentified candidate: Thank you, Barbara. I hear a lot of long-term solutions. I think zoning regulation changes, mixed use, the, it puts the focus back on downtown. I think what is really needed is exactly what has been described. Is, you know, the whole of the housing insecurity in Bangor is a tremendous need. I think we need to be assisting everybody that we can. But as Stephen has said, we have limited resources. What we should be focusing on is gathering resources from alternative sources to help us with wraparound resources. We are in a hub of eastern Maine. We should act like that. We should be an area that has those resources for individuals who are in need, whether that be housing insecurity, food insecurity, whatever you have it. This goes beyond just homelessness. This goes right to the point that more people need assistance. I agree here with Daniel that, you know, inflation costs arising. We really need to focus our efforts on providing resources to folks. Now, changing policies, changing zoning regulations, increasing supply. Those are all great solutions over the long term. What about our current neighborhoods? What are what are we doing for our current folks who live in this city? We need to be helping them. We don't need to be putting a new unit downtown to attract more people to this thing. We need to be helping the folks who currently live here. And my process for this is to put resources in the hands of folks who currently live here to either become landlords themselves or assist with the ownership of their own neighborhoods, Providing them with resources, money, or programs, state assistance that will help them find solutions for their neighborhoods. [36:34] Barbara McDade: Thank you, Daniel Smith. [36:38] Daniel Smith: Yeah, thank you very much. Bangor area homeless shelter. I want to applaud them for what they do. I know that it was the reminder in that how some homeless people over the winter. You know why, because that's what we doing back. And what has great people, this is what I'm trying to say is, you know, we know we have problems but we can come up with solutions. Okay, now, with a high cost of living. What are the chances are that we're going to get more homeless people. probably pretty good right i hope i'm wrong i hope i'm wrong so we need to be proactive right now in addressing that okay so we need to talk to people in the community about some of their ideas of what they would do to house the homeless okay that's what we need to do we need to get a conversation going create synergy get bangor working for you it's going to make everybody's job easier okay so do we have a moral obligation i believe we do i believe we do it's it's just because we have good hearts here we're big hearted people in bangalore at least we always were when i was growing up so with that being said yes we do have a moral obligation we should take advantage of what the bangor area homeless shelter does now And another thing that we could reach out to do, ladies and gentlemen, is we need to reach out to the churches. Okay, we have great churches in Bangalore. We need to reach out to them as well for ideas in the community as to how to address this homeless situation. [38:36] Barbara McDade: Thank you very much. Thank you, Joe Leonard. [38:39] Unidentified candidate: it thank you yes it is a moral imperative to help people and rehabilitate people back into society in a productive way 100 i'm not going to lie this will not be a thing that will be solved overnight, but we still need a plan to prevent what we are experiencing right now. We can do many things. We can follow Atlanta's example by limiting home ownership extensively by creating stricter ordinances on outside of the state homeowners. We can help establish a social services needs and homeless shelters to give them more funding to not have them be a walk in service, but a outstanding service that is always there to act as a safety net for those in trouble. We need to invest in our social services program, our human infrastructure. But we can also follow Texas's example by investing in a pioneering technology that is 3D printable housing. The University of Maine has a pioneer program for 3D printable housing that was just awarded over $30 million from the federal government to continue research more. We can invest in that here. That one project idea will not only bring affordable houses into the area, it will also bring good paying jobs to the area as well. I know that solution and many of these other solutions I bring up, they seem like they are out of reach, but this is the future of infrastructure and Bangor as we all know are hard-working Mainers. We are hard-working people and we can be a national leader in this pioneering industry. Thank you very much. Thank you. Our next question and Daniel Smith. [40:49] Barbara McDade: We'll start with you. Can you name some current city efforts dealing with the opioid epidemic and do you think they are working and do you have any other ideas? [41:04] Daniel Smith: I don't think they're working. I we do have a drug problem in Bangla, there's no question about it and we need to do better in addressing that. I know that it's been discussed about having, bringing in some more centers for people to get treatment. And I got to be honest with you, I don't see that working because it hasn't worked in the past in Bangalore. It hasn't worked. We have an opioid problem. All right. How about the fentanyl? Okay. Did you see the stats on fentanyl? Over 100,000 people have died. Okay, ages 18 to 39. Now put it in perspective. Only 41,000 people died from COVID at that age. Okay, so we have a, there is a, there is a serious problem. Now let's be honest, we some of the problems that we get here in Bangor, it's because of some of the policies that are being created somewhere else. We all know that, okay? It's not the fault of Bangor, but we have to come together as a community to solve these issues. Again, I go back to the surveys. They work. You get the people involved and they feel like they're more of a part of the city, they everybody has a voice, and I think that would be a great, these surveys can be quick, five to eight questions, okay? The key is going to be participation. Yes, they take work, but the benefits are there. [42:55] Barbara McDade: Thank you very much. Thank you, Mike Mayberry. Can you talk about current city efforts dealing with the opioid epidemic, and do you think they're working, or do you have other suggestions? [43:10] Unidentified candidate: Thank you. I think the opioid crisis is hitting Bangor equally as difficultly as other areas within the state of Maine. I think that we are not immune to this crisis. And I do think that there are a number of city programs that are working, but the resources aren't there in a sustainable way that will help the vast majority of these individuals. I think that the challenge is that our current health crisis is overshadowing the opioid crisis. And I do think that our hospitals and programs that are primarily healthcare-based are being overloaded by other pressing issues. The compounding nature of an epidemic or a pandemic is changing the landscape of how our healthcare providers and other folks who provide these resources to those who are experiencing issues with opioids are able to actually help these individuals. So I do think that they are working, but the issue really is that there are compounding factors that are changing the landscape and frankly pushing this out of the news and out of the circle of information that people are getting. I will say that it is difficult as someone who is an educator and someone who works with folks who may be abusing drugs of all kinds. As someone who is on call for a university, I do see the need for our healthcare systems to help these individuals to rehabilitate, but they are at their pressing point too. We need to give as much attention to our healthcare providers as possible and to those who are going to provide these services, they need more resources and they need more assistance and they need more attention. [45:04] Barbara McDade: Thank you very much, Joe Leonard. Thank [45:09] Unidentified candidate: you so much. The opioid epidemic is a disease of despair. Over the pandemic, depression was on the rise, and suicide rates were on the rise, and alcohol-related deaths heavily rose. This isn't just an opioid issue. This is overall something is not functioning in our economy. This is all related to economic problems. These issues are only going to continue to rise unless we address the economic issues that are at the center of the drug epidemic. No one wants to go out of their way to do opioids or heroin or any of these other death dealing drugs. No one actually goes out of the way to do that. People are driven into these areas of misfortune because their lives are not considered in the grander scheme of things. People are turning to drug use because our economy has failed the working class in this country. Bangor is moving in the right direction, but we need to do more, so much more. We need to help our working brothers and sisters. We need to give more to public housing. We need to give more to public restrooms. We need to add more services, add more workers to social services. But we need to do much, more, especially when we live in a country that does not guarantee healthcare as a human right. And we need to work with the state to acquire more funds for Bangor so that we can actually provide the services that are given to this city that are heavily relied upon by not just Bangor, but all of central and northern Maine. We are a hugely influential city, and we are undervalued, and I will make sure that we are valued as such. [47:20] Barbara McDade: Stephen Burrell? Well, [47:25] Michael Mayberry: as I spoke of earlier, I believe that we need a new correctional facility, one that can provide short-term treatment to be able to help get people clean and sober, get them out of the immediate crisis that they're facing. Many of the ideas that I have are more longer-term solutions. I believe we need stronger penalties for people selling drugs, not for those that are doing them. We need stronger penalties, a lot stronger, at the state level for those that are bringing drugs in from out of state. Drugs are being pushed in nearly every neighborhood in town, right on my own street. I see the results of this nightly. I've lived in and around Cape Heart for close to 30 years now. That used to be an area that had very, low worker participation. It's not now, but if you spend any time listening to the scanner or any of the scanner Facebook pages, that neighborhood is worse than ever with drugs. There are no real short-term immediate solutions besides getting folks the help they need. I would like to see more short-term shelters and short-term sobriety places. I would love to be able to work with the barn and to be able to gather more ideas from them on what works. But what we're doing right now, frankly, isn't. If you go into the park on Second Street daily,, there are needles on the ground. Numerous people will call and say, call the police department and say, hey, can you send somebody out here? You picked them up yesterday. They're back again. We've got to change something with what we're doing. [49:27] Barbara McDade: Thank you. Tyler Rowe, do you need me to repeat the question? No, [49:33] Unidentified candidate: thank you thank you barbara when we talk about whether or not our response to the opioid epidemic is working we do really need to address the root cause of these issues it's not just people using drugs it's we've got to look at the at the broader picture of why people are leaning into using opioids and other drugs that keep them from reaching their fullest potential it's jobs it's an economy that works for them it's access to housing that they can afford, regardless of their socioeconomic status. If you're in the working class or middle class, if you can't afford a home to live in, if you can't get access to the job that you need, you can't get connected to social services in this city, you are going to get stuck in a pattern of behavior. This is an issue that's near and dear to my heart. Before I started my business in March of 2020, I was managing a local business here in Bangor, and I had several workers who at various points in their lives and in their careers had gotten addicted to heroin, had gotten addicted to meth, and some of them got stuck in the cycle, stuck in the system where they were paying obscene amounts of the money they earned that should be used to feed their family to pay for methadone treatment, and this was drug court-ordered payments. So, you know, we need to look at the factors that are causing the root of this drug problem. We need to listen to the users and the people who are addicted to these substances to find, you know, are the services in the city working for them. I talked recently, just at the door of a retired police officer yesterday, and he told me that the best thing when he was on the force is when he could go out with a social worker who worked for the Bangor Police Department. Right now we are understaffed. I think we have maybe two social workers on Bangor PD. We need to expand that so that our police department is staffed and capable to handle the issues, not just in a way with force, but in a way reaching out to our neighbors and helping them get back on their feet and helping them get connected to jobs and affordable housing. Thank you. Thank you very much. [51:42] Barbara McDade: Steven Brown, we'll start with you, and this is kind of a fun question. What neighborhood do you live in and why, and where are your favorite places to spend time in our city? [52:00] Michael Mayberry: Well, that's going to be a bit of a tough question to answer, sir. I'll tell you why in just a second. I do, however, as I alluded before, I live on 76 Shepherd Drive. It's a nice, wonderful, quiet community. It looks much like parts of the west side of Bangor. It has a very neighborly feel. I was fortunate enough to find a piece of property that fit my needs perfectly. My wife and I are avid gardeners, and when we were looking at this house, it dawned on me that there are no trees in my backyard or my neighbor's backyard, and it faces due south. Last two years ago we did 52 quarts of tomato sauce out of our own garden. I'm kind of a workaholic, so the place that I am most is at work, but I would say that beyond a shadow of a doubt, the place that I have the most joy in spending is with my wife, Rose, in our own garden, whether it's out back or out front. One way or another, other, most of our free time is taken up providing for ourselves. [53:25] Unidentified candidate: Sure. So, I live right in the heart of downtown, one Main Street. I, if you are honking at someone, because you're late for work, I'm hearing it. And, I, love being so close to our downtown businesses and just seeing so many of our businesses go up and thrive and bring so many people to the heart of our city. It's, it's what really got me interested in pursuing being on the city council initially, all the way back in 2020, and this right after I got out of the army. And I mean, it is a close second, actually, my favorite part of Bangor, actually. It's so much fun. You're so close to all these wonderful parks that we can walk to. They're beautiful, wonderful parks. They do need restrooms. They need public restrooms. [54:29] Michael Mayberry: Other than that, they're great. [54:32] Unidentified candidate: And if I had to choose, though, my favorite place to go to is the Bangor City Forest. I'm currently in grad school for pursuing an economics degree. And every time I have a test that I need to like de-stress right beforehand or I have finals coming up, walking around in that forest is just so soothing. And that really is at the heart of like what Maine is in general, what Bangor is. We have such a natural beauty that we need to, we already appreciate it, but I think we can take a larger economic opportunity to really promote us more as also a even grander, beautiful tourist hub as well. Especially as we're now seeing MDI being one of the most traveled to parks in the country. [55:34] Barbara McDade: Thank you Mike Mayberry. [55:51] Unidentified candidate: That back in operation for tours and in fact I think Summit Park and the standpipe is one of my favorite places when I'm you know in my yard I can see the standpipe. It's a beautiful figure. It's a beautiful place to be. My son actually calls it his water tower, which is just really cute. He really enjoys walking around there, and every time we're able to take a walk around our neighborhood, we have to stop and walk on the rocks along the way. We moved here because of my son. We were in Springfield, Massachusetts, and we are both, well, I'm originally from Maine and wanted to get back. We were growing our family, and we settled on Bangor because of its family, you know, friendliness. We found our house on Thomas Hill Road because of the property. I'm also an avid gardener, and I have a fairly large raised bed garden, and I too work on tomato sauce and all those other great things that come from our garden, and, you know, it's one of the few joys that I have is taking and spending some time in our yard and watching my son enjoy this great city. You know, we wanted to be here because we believe that this is the great place to raise our son and soon to be daughter, in fact. So we are hopeful for the future of Bangor, but Bangor needs to live up to the bargain that it provided us. It was touted as a family-friendly family city, and we really want it to be. And that's why I'm running. I want this to be a family-friendly city that I know my son will stay and enjoy his time. Thank you. Thank you. Daniel Smith. [57:37] Daniel Smith: Yeah, wow, where do I begin? There's so many great places I love to be in Bangalore. I love to be at a ball game. I love to be at Cameron Stadium. I love to be at Hudson University. I live in the Huston University area. I like going down to the harness races at Bass Park. Hung out there a lot in my younger days. I love being at church on Sunday. You know, it's just too, you know, I was born and raised in Bangor. I've been here my whole life. I love the downtown. Just so many great memories to share. You know, when I think back, all the things that we did in this community, like I said, I think it's one of the greatest communities in the country. And I mean that. It's a great place to live, it's a great place to raise kids. And congratulations on going to have another baby. And that's the other thing, I did a kids club on Wednesday nights. nights. And being around the kids is, amazing. You learn so much from being around them. And so being around the kids just, you know, the sports fields, the church, probably the greatest place that I like to be. [59:05] Barbara McDade: Thank you, Tyler. [59:08] Unidentified candidate: Thanks, Barbara. So Bangor staple is our neighborhoods. You know, Dom's, Dom said it before, we are known for our neighborhoods, we are known for the togetherness we have in our little communities and inside of Bangor. I live in the little city on Earl Avenue right behind Tri-City Pizza, and I probably indulge in a little bit too much pizza being so close. It's really dangerous being there, but you know, I just, I love our neighborhood. I love how the neighborhoods puts network together, especially in the summertime. You've got kids around going to the parks, you've got community picnics happening, barbecues and the like. That to me is just, it's that small town vibe that I truly enjoy in Bangor. As for places I really enjoy spending my time when I'm out and about, especially in the summertime, is our waterfront area, our walkable waterfront and downtown. It's great to go out with your significant other, go out with your family take your take your child downtown it's very walkable and i've got some ideas about that too i'd like to see the city explore shutting down broad street again you know back in the summer of 2020 that was it was great to see just more walkability in the downtown area i know there's certainly some needs as far as the as the businesses in back of broad street go and we 'd need to accommodate those for deliveries but I love our downtown. I think it anchors our city, and it's a great area for economic opportunity. It's a great place to get a meal and spend some time with your family. So those are some of the things that I enjoy about my city. And I know a lot of you share in talking with you at your doors. You love our neighborhoods. You love living in a city that has the services Bangor has to offer, but feels like a small town. [1:00:58] Barbara McDade: Thank you. Moving on to the next question, what will you do to support night and weekend service of the Community Connector? Daniel Smith, let's start with, I [1:01:19] Daniel Smith: think the biggest thing to do is to say i already do support it because i write my son does and i think that's the biggest way that you support and the other thing is look at the gas prices right now i think that's going to be a huge asset in the future for bangalore again i know there's been some talk about no flag stops i've heard about that I, in the wintertime I'm not so sure that's a good idea. But maybe in the summertime it's something you know we could explore. But I think the biggest thing is that with the time that we're living in right now, it's going to be word of mouth and promotion. Okay, we got to build it up. That's what it comes down to, cases in anything that you do, if you talk it down. It's probably not going to be successful, but if you talk it up and you promote it the right way, then we can have success at it. And I'd like to see us continue that again. Like I said, I did, I hate to throw this out there, I don't, in Washington state right now they're changing their gas pumps to get ready for ten dollars a gallon. Okay, you know, I hope that doesn't come here, but if it does, we got to be ready. We have to be proactive, but we're bangles, we can do it. Thank you. Thank you, Jessica Leonard. [1:03:14] Unidentified candidate: Sure, so I mentioned this a few times in the past, we, I, and I'll get to translate in a second. We need to develop a city application for smartphones to better connect the citizen to city services that works also in conjunction with the city website. This application should also include incorporating transit systems, such as buses, or working with other future technologies, such as potentially like a rail system that we absolutely need to be advocates for in supporting as well. New York, Miami, Boston, all these cities already have these apps anyway. This is not reinventing the wheel here. These applications work and they help promote the use of public transportation further, so by making transit much more accessible to both young people, young families, and anyone who isn't aware of it but is technology, technologically savvy, this would be a great inventive way to promote the transit system and to expand it further, because right now, we need to heavily use public services more than ever now. As we've just discussed earlier, rising gas prices, rising economic living situations. We need to work with the people, Banger, to make their lives easier, not harder. Tyler, what? Yeah, I think expansion of our bus system to nights and weekends is critical to the success of the Bangor worker and our businesses. I managed a restaurant in town for a number of years and it was so hard to staff some of the late night shifts, it was so hard to staff on Sundays, because you know, a lot of our core base of employees relied on public transportation and our buses weren't running. I agree wholeheartedly with Joe. We need an app integrated not just for our transit system but for the city. As a whole, that is modern, and it can be implemented at a small cost. The technology is there. Like Joe said, we don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are technological solutions that we can implement tomorrow to invest in an app that will help with our commutes, our commuters are people who use the bus lines and for other infrastructure needs in the city. I think we need to focus on the routes that are being utilized. There was some studies done by some outside consulting firms, but I think we can even do better and just internally log how our bus systems are currently being utilized and really market our buses as something that is available to members of our community. I had a number of employees who didn't know how to use the bus system. They didn't know the routes to the bus system. And yes, it's available online, but we take for granted sometimes that we've lived here for a number of years. We take for granted that we know how to use the bus system, that we know how to use our city services. We need to do a better job of marketing in that to people who are moving into Bangor, who are who need access to our public transportation. Thank you. [1:06:44] Barbara McDade: Thank you, Stephen Bro. Well. [1:06:50] Michael Mayberry: I we need our community connector, that is absolutely true. We must, as a city, support the citizens that use it, not make it harder. The community needs a strong, vibrant city service that is willing to serve its seniors, its disabled, its lower income folks with no vehicle. As it's already been mentioned, we have a time of economic uncertainty coming. I'm projecting that bus ridership is going to go up, not down. I was rather disappointed when I got an email from Food and Medicine informing me that drivers are supporting getting rid of the flagstaffs. As your counselor, I will vehemently oppose that. I will not allow our seniors, our disabled people, particularly in the winter, to have to walk to and from the bus stop in poor weather, particularly on the return trip when they're likely to be carrying groceries. We're already moving forward with the results of the Stantec study to improve the use of technology. But probably the one thing that I will say, if elected as a councillor, I will march down to the community connector office, and I will look at each and every one of those drivers and say, if you are not willing to serve the people of this city the way they need to be served, do us a favor. At the end of your shift, quit. Walk out the door. We do not need you functioning as an example of how the city conducts its business and provides service for its residents. [1:08:39] Barbara McDade: Thank you, Michael Mayberry. Thank you, Barbara. [1:08:45] Unidentified candidate: I think that we have a lot of data on ridership. I think that there have been multiple studies cited by candidates here tonight. I agree. The community connector is an essential piece of the little greater bag or puzzle to get, you know, folks to and from either jobs or homes or visiting friends and neighbors within the city. We have a bus stop at Huston University, and we have our students use the Community Connector quite often. Actually, it's a resource that's valuable to not only universities and businesses in this city, but to most everybody. I, too, have written on the Community Connector, and I have enjoyed my time using it. I think that what we need to do is look at the data that shows which routes are used most frequently and figure out which routes are needed on the weekends in more frequency. I think that we have that data. We need to actually implement some of the data as well. I think we can offer sponsorships. You know, if there are businesses who rely on that bus for their employees, might they try to help their employees by sponsoring bus routes? You know, is that something that local businesses would likely do to help make sure that their employees have access to their employer? I think that P3 works well for housing. I think it could also work well for transportation. With the rising prices on gas, I agree, Daniel. I think that we need to find creative solutions. I am not someone who says I have all the solutions. I certainly don't, and I want to listen to those who use the Community Connector to figure out what they need so that we're not just making decisions in a vacuum, that we're actually helping the people who ride the Community Connector or use the resources here within the city of Bangor. [1:10:38] Barbara McDade: Thank you. Thank you, Mike. We'll stay with you and for the next question, which is, what do you think the city should do to reduce its carbon footprint, and along with that, would you do you support installing rooftop solar panels on school buildings and city buildings? [1:10:59] Unidentified candidate: I'll answer the latter first. I think that is a creative solution to a ever-growing and challenging problem. I think the reduction of fossil fuel use is an important way to curb carbon emissions. I do think that I would support an installation of solar panels on educational buildings. The problem is that these are costly efforts. They are subsidized in some way, but they are a very small piece to that puzzle of carbon emissions and sustainable practices. I think that what we really need to focus on is finding ways to reduce our need on fossil fuels by providing individuals with access to grants that provide them with the opportunity to not use oil or natural resources that aren't sustainable. I do believe that this is an incredibly important issue facing the city of Bangor. You know, we just talked about the community connector and their efforts are don't go unnoticed to be more sustainable, but that's challenging on them. We need to figure out what is a solution that will that will not be as costly on the individuals of the city or businesses within the city. [1:12:20] Daniel Smith: Thank you. Thank you. [1:12:22] Unidentified candidate: Thank you, Barbara. As far as our carbon footprint goes in this adding potentially adding solar panels to city buildings and schools. Certainly if we can make this happen in a cost effective way. We all know that solar and using the sun's power is absolutely a renewable way to generate energy. So I would be certainly supportive of that. And I think we need to examine each project we take on line by line. Does it make sense in the context of the budget? Does it make sense in the context of what it's doing to reduce our carbon footprint? I think a lot of people are already taking on sustainable efforts to reduce emissions themselves. I see lots of you really interested in sustainable gardening. I see I think our community cares about this issue deeply, and I think as a city councilor I can I can help be a leader on that front. I can bring us together to find creative ways that we can you know make our city more sustainable. We can do this together. You guys have lots of great ideas. I've talked to so many of you. And we need to build this into our comprehensive plan that we're working on right now. Our bus system, as Mike had mentioned, I'll echo that, you know, that helps certainly, you know, ride sharing, that type of thing, making Bangor as walkable as possible. Our downtown is very walkable. It's tough in the wintertime. We'll all admit that, you know, nobody, wants to be walking out in the cold all the time. But you know some of our neighborhoods also are lacking the proper sidewalks we have some wide roads that don't have sidewalks that make Bangor less walkable and there's some really common sense ways and I want feedback from our community members who say you know hey we could use a sidewalk in our neighborhood you know it's it's tough for me to ride my bike down Still Water can we explore some bike lanes can we explore some ways to make Bangor more walkable It's a problem that we that we all Can face together, and I think we need to really take a look of to build that into our comprehensive plan this year. [1:14:30] Barbara McDade: Thank you. Thank you, Steven Brown. [1:14:34] Michael Mayberry: Well, that's an issue I've kind of been around for a long time. I had asked during some council meetings I think it was eight perhaps ten years ago when the gas conversion from oil happened out in Cape Heart why solar didn't go on the rooftops then anybody that's been out to Cape Heart knows there are no trees taller than the roofs there are acres and acres of solar siding available right there it could have been readily done and I got the same silence from that council then that I'm hearing right now in this room when we're not speaking. They simply didn't know how to handle that. When my wife and I bought what is our retirement home, I looked at the cost of solar, not to be green necessarily, but to become energy independent for ourselves, and I had two different solar companies come in, look at the amount of oil that was used over the last several years my usage turned out to be approximate with the previous owner and so did the electric bill so we had multiple years of good records within 72 hours they were able to give me an estimate on the cost of putting solar on My roof and installing a heat pump to replace the furnace so that I could then use enough electricity to offset all of my electric needs and the cost of running the heat pump. I got that in 72 hours last March. We were the council was brought up and asked to sign on to a climate change plan. It's a year later, it hasn't happened. I actually called city hall asking to try to go down that same road. How many gallons of oil, how many gallon, how many kilowatt hours of electricity do we use that year? They can't give it to us. Thank you Daniel Smith. Thank [1:16:52] Daniel Smith: you. Yeah, those are all great solutions, using the community connector, reducing the carbon footprint. It's important, but we got to be realistic. This is the northeast. We have some challenging winners up here, and I don't think anybody really saw this coming that's hit us right now. But everywhere you go, when I look around the landscape, I drive for FedEx and I see solar panels being built all over the place. They're everywhere, huge fields, so they're coming. Okay, we got to continue to recycle. Okay, ride share is a good thing. You know, those are all great solutions. The other thing is, what's it going to cost the homeowner to have solar panels, to switch over? Homeowners are struggling now, so we really have to take a good look at that to see, okay, is it, and the other thing is, it cost effective? Has anybody, you know, has anybody done a survey with people that have solar panels? Do they work appropriately in the northeast the way they should. The sun's not always out. Let's be honest. But again, anything we can do to reduce the carbon footprint in the community is a great thing. But again, we have to be realistic on it, you know, and make sure that we're not setting people up for failure. Okay, we want to set people up for success in Bangor, not failure. That's important. Thank you. Thank you [1:18:50] Unidentified candidate: and Jessif Leonard. Sure, I actually want to echo what Stephen brought up in terms of energy independence. Many cities across the country are realizing the energy that's being provided to us from local corporations are effectively ripping us off. Energy is a human right. And they have the authority to raise prices whenever they want, even when it's not justified. And cities across the country are starting to realize that we need to look for other solutions, especially as we're coming across this climate change catastrophe that's upon us. We can, as a city, right now, reduce our carbon footprint by bringing to heel these companies that overcharge us and inappropriately use non-green means to expand its energy resources and its profits. Energy storage is actually something that is heavily under-talked about as well. There are many means of storage that we can use, such as kinetic energy. We can use wind energy that can be utilized when there are high winds, and then when that energy is not being provided by wind, we can store that in elevator-like shafts that are engineered and planned out in blueprints, and we can incorporate those into our energy storage process. That's just one area of energy storage that I can bring up here. here. But to answer the solar panel questions, I think in a short-term solution, yes. I think investing in clean energy facilities is a good way to go, as it will help us bring jobs. Holden just invested into a solar panel field, and that will help our efforts in fighting climate change. With that said, though, we also need to consider resources that go into creating green energy. Copper is a key element in that green energy, and it is growing scarce. So with that said, this is only a temporary solution. Thank you. [1:21:00] Barbara McDade: Thank you all very much. I'm sorry that ends our public session because I have at least 20 more questions, and they range all over the place from unions and zoning and what business sectors we would like to see the downtown the arts organizations. So I'm sorry we didn't get to all of our questions, but it is time now for our closing remarks, and we will go in the same order as we drew for the opening remarks. So Michael Mayberry, we will start with you. Thank [1:21:40] Unidentified candidate: you again to all of you who attended in person and virtually tonight and to the League of Women Voters of Maine for hosting us. This has been a tremendous honor for me. I think back to why I ran or why I'm running is really is my family. My young son asked me, you know, the other day why I chose to do this, and I said, well, I just really want to make a difference. One, but also I have a passion for local governance. I believe that where we are in these times, we need to listen more. We need to work together a bit more. I have the utmost confidence and respect for our current city council. For the folks who work here in the city. I think that they are doing a tremendous job with the adversity that they're facing at this moment. I do think that we could listen and be more transparent as a city with our resources, with our communications. I think that we could provide the citizens of this great city with more information, with more timely information, and have them be part of the process or feel like they're part of the process. As someone who has a young family, I do feel a bit disconnected. And I wish that I was more connected to my city government. I also would like to say that I'm not a politician. I'm not someone who has all the answers. I'm certainly not someone who, you know, is here to for an agenda. I'm here to support not only my neighborhood, but every citizen in the city of Bangor. I am someone who deeply cares about my community, and I want our communities to thrive. And that's why part of my intent in running for City Council is to provide opportunities that put the resources back to the neighborhoods, back to the folks who live in this city. [1:23:37] Barbara McDade: Thank you. Thank you very much, Joseph Leonard. [1:23:43] Unidentified candidate: Again, I want to thank the League of Women Voters for organizing this forum, but please go to their website, get involved, and become a member. They have done a lot of great work to get more representation of women in politics. And especially during these trying times, we need women more than ever to get involved in politics. And thank you for everyone coming. Thank you at home for participating in this forum. This is, I consider this an act of service. So thank you for coming here and listening to all of us. And I commend you for it. For me, service has always been an action that helped define in me a sense of purpose, whether it's volunteering to donate materials at food banks or swearing an oath to join the army. I've always strived to do more for others and to try and help others before myself. And as a current student of economics, I understand the economic situation in our country looks incredibly dire. It does not look promising. However, there are, I just want to reiterate, there are economic opportunities here that we are not considering. Engineering, such as working with the University of Maine, to help incorporate and develop its 3D printing initiatives. We can work with the University and the Maine National Guard engineers to incorporate this new technology and develop brand new, stronger and cheaper infrastructure that we can be pioneers in and use it to create jobs in Bangor. I was just talking to Steven, like we can look at energy initiatives that we the city can own and use it to help fight climate change as well. There are so many solutions that we can consider, but we're just not acting upon. The future can be bright. I absolutely guarantee that. My name is Joe Leonard, and I'm going to be knocking on door near you soon. Thank you so much. Thanks again Barbara and the League of Women Voters for hosting this forum. It's so great to speak with all of you both here in it and at home online who are watching this forum. I just I just I hope I've made it clear while I've talked to you tonight that I'm running for Bangor City Council. So I'm your neighbor and I love my city. That's it. You know, I want to see our city grow. I want to see our city thrive. And we've talked a lot tonight about some larger macroeconomic factors that are affecting our nation, affecting our state and affecting our city. But I truly believe Bangor has such a great base of people. We are people are our biggest asset. And together, through these tough economic times, we can build a better Bangor. I've attended a lot of these visioning sessions with you and I know a lot of you say we can make some changes to the way we look at our housing situation in Bangor. We can make some improvements to our public transportation. And if I have the pleasure to be elected by you on June 14th, I look forward to working together with all the guys who share the stage with me tonight because I think all of you bring a lot of great ideas and you know we are leaders of Bangor even though we're not elected we are leaders of Bangor those of you out there who have great ideas you're a leader in your community whether you're elected to a position whether you sit on a local board whether you own a business or work from home you are the leaders in the community we need to hear from you how we can make this city a better place. I've come up with some proposals with how to spend our $20 million that Bangor has, and specific proposals I hope to share with the city council, if they'll allow me. Check out my website row for Bangor comm facebook.com slash row for Bangor. That's our OWE. And I just hope I hope when you get in the voting box when you have your absentee ballot, that you will consider Tyler row for Bangor City Council, your neighbor your friend and hopefully a future city councilor thank you [1:27:54] Barbara McDade: stephen rowe bro [1:28:00] Michael Mayberry: thank you barbara for putting this wonderful event on this evening i'm running to represent the ignored the seniors the disabled the disenchanted voters that feel city council overlooks them i'm not against taxation we need local more than state or federal i don't mind paying city employees so they don't leave for the private sector we need their experience on the job every day but firstly what people tell me and i listen is that taxes are a concern with inflation in the last months making people nervous for their finances and even staying in their homes i want to give them and all of you a better voice in the involuntary taxation of our mill rate and our spending in the form of voter approval. We don't have that on all but our most expensive projects. That needs to change. As a council of nine, our job is to be responsible and meet residents' needs with help from our department heads, yet let voters decide if and how we want to spend our tax dollars. As nine citizens, it's our civic duty to vote in a booth for those projects as we see fit, but always, respect the will of the public we serve. How I feel on a particular matter is almost irrelevant. My vote should not and does not matter more than yours, the taxpayer and voter. Council listened when the public turned out to loudly voice displeasure over Airbnbs and boarding homes lumped together and allowed in parts of the city. The way they should listen. We need better voter turnout and participation in our city, not more power to less people. The government should be more involved with the government or the public should be more involved with the government of, by, and for the people. We've lost that along the way, and I want to change it for the good of our city. I have some very big shoes to fill in Councilor Dubé, but I'm ready to serve with open ears, dignity, a little fire, and spirit that's been missing from Council the last few years. I'm Steve Brough, Quality Control Coordinator, Bangor Ethics Committee, Master Mason, Board Chair and Coach, Bangor Area Wrestling, Volunteer at Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Pantry, and your next city councillor. Find me on Facebook. Thank you very much. And Daniel Smith. [1:30:17] Daniel Smith: Thank you Barbara. Thank you to the Lake of Women boys for having us all here, and I want to thank all these guys as well. I got, I got a son that's almost all your age, and I'd be proud. I just want to read something that I wrote down, and I know I talked on this, but collecting citizen feedback on how the municipality is doing with its strategic initiatives, does of course take time and effort. But it offers great benefits. Not only will you get a better idea of how your city is performing from the point of view, but you also make people feel more connected to their communities. Community by ensuring that every voice is heard. That's citizen satisfaction surveys. Okay, again, I want to stress we have great people in Bangor, some of the smartest people in the world. We need to take advantage of that, especially now, and we can do it. There's only listen, there's no problems, there's only solutions. Okay, we don't have to fear. We'll get through it. We always do. Okay, we're Banglorians. I've lived here my whole life. I love Bangor. My kids lived in Bangor. So I'm asking for your vote on June 14th. I'll work hard. I'm not afraid to get dirty, roll my sleeves up, and go to work. There's no shortcuts in life. It's hard work. That's what we got to do. We got to be proactive. And again, I'm asking for your vote. My name is Daniel Smith, and thank you very much. Thank you all very much. I do want to thank the candidates [1:32:19] Barbara McDade: It's for both coming out tonight and for running for office. It's, it's a lot of work. You need to educate yourself on many issues. It's knowing our city, and I appreciate it. I appreciate the people that came out and the people that sent in questions before time and the people watching us now. We need informed voters, and I hope that you will visit the candidates websites and talk to them and find out, make your ideas known to them. Thank you from the League of Women Voters, and please vote on June 14th. Thank you all very much.