VoteBangor Powered by MaineScanner
Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3 Polls 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center
11

Candidate for Bangor City Council · Nov. 3, 2026

Jennifer McGinley Maskala

Top priority: "Spend less, do more": get the council back to basics such as aging sewers and school buildings. BDN, Sept. 24

About Jennifer

Maskala worked in health care before joining the Wild Blueberry Commission in 2022. She holds an MBA and says she manages budgets of more than $1 million. BDN, Sept. 24LWV forum, Oct. 7

On the ballot as
Maskala, Jennifer McGinley
Ballot position
11 of 12
Age
Declined to share
Work
Programs director, Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine
Ties to Bangor
Born in Bangor; moved back about 18 years ago
Party
Declined to say
Council meetings attended
Some meetings in person; watches many online
Public record
No prior elected office reported. Took part in the League of Women Voters candidate forum, Oct. 7, 2026.

Where Maskala stands

Summaries of what the candidate has said publicly, in our words. Follow the source links for full context.

Homelessness

Wants the city to reexamine the Yellen Pines development, calling its 30-year tax reimbursement a major commitment. Wants to work with city staff to understand what services homeless residents want and need. Wants written funding commitments from regional and state partners so Bangor taxpayers do not carry the cost alone. BDN, Sept. 24BDN, Oct. 5LWV forum, Oct. 7 1:36:53 7:51

Drug use and syringe programs

Would require syringe providers to label each needle and fine providers when littered syringes are traced to them. BDN, Sept. 24 10:10

Public safety and policing

Wants clear standards enforced against theft, assault and drug dealing, saying hardship does not excuse harming others. LWV forum, Oct. 7 2:39:25

Housing and rent

Links housing to affordability, saying property tax reassessments are straining residents on fixed incomes who want to stay in the city. Would speed workforce housing with predictable zoning, pre-approved designs and faster permits. Fox Bangor, Sept. 18LWV forum, Oct. 7

Property taxes and the city budget

Wants spending cuts to ease property taxes, especially for people on fixed incomes. Cites the Pickering Square renovation as nonessential spending. Proposes a property tax freeze for homeowners 65 and older who have been in their home five years. BDN, Sept. 24LWV forum, Oct. 7 2:15:38 12:09

Jobs, business and the economy

Wants to recruit air cargo, logistics and cold-storage businesses to the airport. LWV forum, Oct. 7 1:24:36 2:06:59

How the council works

Promises an open-door policy and says residents feel unheard. Wants the council focused on basic services. BDN, Sept. 24 2:23:56 8:32

Data centers and license plate cameras

Backs the temporary data center ban but thinks data centers deserve consideration for the jobs they could bring. BDN, Sept. 24

Key council decisions

The Bangor Daily News asked all 12 candidates how they would have voted on measures that came before the council in the past year; six are shown here. Answers are summarized in our words; the BDN's chart has their full comments.

Measure and outcomePosition
180-day pause on data center constructionPassed 9-0 in April 2026; later extended for another 180 days.Yes Wants more information, but says Bangor has the infrastructure for a data center and it is worth considering. BDN, Oct. 7
Proposed 180-day ban on new syringe programs and treatment facilitiesRejected 2-3 in the Business and Economic Development Committee, June 2026.Yes Would use the pause to gather information on syringe services. BDN, Oct. 7
Funding for the public health department's homeless response coordinatorRequested by the public health department in the 2026 budget; the position was previously paid for with federal pandemic relief money.Undecided Sees a likely need but is still gathering information. BDN, Oct. 7
Increased school budgetThe School Committee proposed a $65.8 million budget, up 5.6% from the year before.No Says the increase was too much given a decade of declining enrollment. BDN, Oct. 7
Ordinance limiting how much city staff, including police, help federal immigration agents (ICE)Would have barred city employees from helping enforce federal civil immigration law. Failed 3-5 on June 22, 2026.No Would not risk federal funding for the airport. BDN, Oct. 7
Tax reimbursement (TIF) for the Yellen Pines supportive housing projectApproved 6-3 in August 2026; a move to reconsider failed 7-2. The city reimburses 75% of the building's property taxes for 30 years. Residents are not required to be sober or in treatment: the developer has said some may use drugs in their apartments, with round-the-clock on-site staff from Preble Street there to encourage them not to. Residents sign a lease with rules, and continued rule-breaking or illegal drug use leads to eviction.No Calls it a huge 30-year commitment for the city. BDN, Oct. 7

Other positions

Questions put to the candidates that were not council votes. "No position" means we found no public statement; we never infer one.

QuestionPosition
Rent control or a rent freezeNo position

Voting record on the council

Not a sitting councilor, so there is no council voting record. "Key council decisions" above shows how the candidate says they would have voted.

In their own words

Word for word from each video's captions, with filler words (uh, um) and false starts taken out. [Brackets] mark our corrections of caption errors and ... marks words left out. Every candidate gets the same picks: from the Oct. 7 forum, an opening or closing statement and the answers on downtown policing and on property taxes; from the BDN video interviews, the answers on homelessness, syringes and city spending; and up to four remarks from 2026 City Council meeting videos (public comment, or remarks from the council table for a sitting councilor). Tap the time to hear it yourself. All candidates' quotes

People across Bangor are being asked to do more with less. City Hall should be expected to do the same... Spend less, do more, and show residents the results.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Why I'm running 1:10:14

Find a way to put a senior home tax freeze on residents that are 65 years or older that have lived in their house for five consecutive years.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Keeping seniors in their homes 2:15:38

I think enforcing clear standards against theft, assault, drug dealing is definitely needed. Hardship doesn't excuse harming other people.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Downtown, homelessness and the police 2:39:25

We have to be compassionate and try to understand what their needs are and see what we can do to support them.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Homelessness 8:33

It might be actually a good policy to implement... them printing something on the needles to say who is giving the needles out, so that we can hopefully be assured to get them back and not have them be dropped in our parks.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Syringes 10:10

Be fiscally responsible, effectively use our taxpayers' money wisely, because I think it's kind of come to a point where people aren't going to be able to afford to live here anymore.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026City spending 13:01

Watch them answer

Links open YouTube at the moment the candidate starts answering. Our summaries are above; the video is their own words.

LWV forum, Oct. 7, 2026: League of Women Voters candidate forum, Bangor City Council

Bangor Daily News, Oct. 5, 2026: How City Council candidates say they'll reduce homelessness in Bangor

Bangor Daily News, Oct. 5, 2026: How Bangor City Council candidates say they'd work together as a team

Bangor Daily News, Oct. 5, 2026: What Bangor City Council candidates say they'd do to limit drug use and syringe litter

Bangor Daily News, Oct. 5, 2026: The changes City Council candidates say they'd make to Bangor's budget

Endorsements

Endorsements by groups and public figures, as reported in news coverage or listed on a candidate's own campaign website. Endorsements are listed for information only; VoteBangor does not endorse.

None reported in the coverage or campaign websites we reviewed.

Sources

Last checked Oct. 10, 2026.