Bangor elects 2 newcomers to council, gives incumbent another term

Bangor voters elected two new members to the city council and gave a longtime council another term in Tuesday’s election.
Incumbent Susan Hawes gathered 9,200 votes to begin her 14th year on the city council while newcomers Michael Beck and Wayne Mallar earned 7,109 and 6,027 votes, respectively, according to unofficial results Wednesday morning. All three candidates earned three-year terms on the city council.
Beck and Mallar will take the seats of outgoing councilors Dina Yacoubagha and Gretchen Shaefer.
Joschka Winterling earned the lowest number of votes with 3,499.
Mallar, a Bangor resident for more than 30 years, decided to run for the city council for the first time after watching older Bangor residents grow frustrated with rising taxes, open drug use, crime becoming more prevalent and the city’s growing homeless population.
Prior to the election, Mallar told the Bangor Daily News he would encourage the council to explore solutions other cities of Bangor’s size have found if elected. For example, he said has heard of communities in southern Maine reducing drug use and syringe waste by ceasing to distribute clean syringes to people who inject drugs.
Additionally, Mallar said he would like the city council to begin allowing public comment during the body’s committee meetings and would encourage the council to respond to public comments during formal city council meetings.
Hawes will begin her 14th year on council. She was born in Bangor and moved back to the city in 1987.
Hawes said she decided to run again because she still enjoys the work and wants to finish some projects the council is working on.
Prior to the election, Hawes told the Bangor Daily News she’d like to see the city continue to work with business owners and housing managers to make Bangor a welcoming place for new developments.
Hawes also said she’d chip away at Bangor’s longstanding challenges, including homelessness, substance use disorder and untreated mental health disorders and encourage the council to make decisions faster.
Additionally, Hawes said councilors and city staff should be more transparent and communicative about what projects they’re working on so residents are informed and feel they can ask questions.
Beck earned a position on the Bangor City Council after making an unsuccessful run for a seat last November.
Prior to the election, Beck told the Bangor Daily News he’d prioritize adding more housing in the area, especially for low-income families. This, he said, would also boost economic development in the city because people who work local shops, restaurants and other businesses could afford to live where they work.
In addition to housing, Beck said he’d focus on expanding and improving public transportation in the region. For example, Beck said he hasn’t heard the council discuss why the regional bus service, the Community Connector, ended its Saturday service since the announcement was made last month.
Beck said councilors should be brainstorming ways to aid the bus service so it can restore Saturday service for the people who rely on it to get to work and run errands.