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Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3 Polls 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center
12

Candidate for Bangor City Council · Nov. 3, 2026

John King

Answered our survey

Top priority: Fiscal responsibility: find and cut duplicated spending. BDN, Sept. 29

About John

King has served on Bangor's Board of Ethics for four years, with his term extended in March 2026, and volunteers with Friends of Lower Kenduskeag Stream. BDN, Sept. 29LWV forum, Oct. 7VoteBangor, Oct. 12

On the ballot as
King, John Eddy
Ballot position
12 of 12
Age
43
Work
Ph.D. student in business; military retiree
Ties to Bangor
Has lived in Bangor since retiring from the military in 2018
Party
Moderate Democrat
Council meetings attended
Watches meetings online, citing possible ethics board conflicts
Public record
Member of the Bangor Board of Ethics for four years; term extended in March 2026. Took part in the League of Women Voters candidate forum, Oct. 7, 2026.

Where King stands

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

Homelessness

Wants neighboring towns to help fund regional homelessness resources, and yearly reports from shelters, syringe providers and recovery groups on where people come from. Suggests reaching out to cities that have made progress on homelessness. BDN, Sept. 29Fox Bangor 1:34:02 8:42

Drug use and syringe programs

Supports well-run syringe programs with more accountability. Favors gradual per-person exchange limits over a strict one-for-one rule, and wants providers to patrol for litter. BDN, Sept. 29 11:24

Public safety and policing

Wants more officers, and says police should have discretion to enforce ordinances or offer services. Would expand downtown's two-person night outreach crew. LWV forum, Oct. 7 2:36:58

Housing and rent

Supports the idea of supportive housing like Yellen Pines but says the council should have set conditions before voting. BDN, Sept. 29

Property taxes and the city budget

Would look for duplication, such as combining two public health homelessness positions, and return savings as an income-based tax incentive. Says the 75% Yellen Pines reimbursement is too high. BDN, Sept. 29 2:18:02 13:45

Jobs, business and the economy

Wants faster sewer upgrades, rezoning to bring in companies, and housing so people who work in Bangor can live there. LWV forum, Oct. 7 1:27:10 2:04:45

How the council works

Says the council does not apply the same standards to all members, and calls for more compassion and teamwork. BDN, Sept. 29 2:21:53 9:52

Data centers and license plate cameras

No public position found in the sources we reviewed.

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 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.No Says well-run syringe programs are backed by data. 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.Yes If backed by data showing results. BDN, Oct. 7
Increased school budgetThe School Committee proposed a $65.8 million budget, up 5.6% from the year before.Yes 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.Yes Would have proposed amendments to broaden support. 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 Would have voted yes with conditions set ahead of time. 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 freezeYes Supports rent control. VoteBangor, Oct. 12

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

The challenges facing our unhoused and underhoused neighbors, our businesses, our neighborhoods aren't a left or right issue. They are [a] Bangor issue.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Why I'm running 1:05:46

Starting with the redundancies in our budget and finding out if we're paying for the same thing in two different locations... We can take that savings and reinvest it to our senior citizens.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Keeping seniors in their homes 2:18:02

Let them know that they have the choice of enforcing the law and ordinances or giving that resource paper. You need to let them have that choice... You are the professional.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Downtown, homelessness and the police 2:36:58

I would focus on the institutions that are actually doing the work with results, requiring their yearly results reported to cities so that we can evaluate and award the money.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Homelessness 8:42

I would say enforce the laws. And I would say have accountability for the needle exchange.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Syringes 11:24

I would like to find all the duplications in the city's budget, be able to take that money and focus it more on the actual needs... and give it back to the residents with tax incentives.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026City spending 13:51

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. 12, 2026.