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Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3 Polls 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center
07

Candidate for Bangor City Council · Nov. 3, 2026

Joseph Pratt

Answered our survey

Top priority: Restore civility and decorum to how the council functions. BDN, Sept. 18

About Joseph

Pratt serves on the boards of the Bangor Public Library, the Maine Planned Giving Council and the Bangor Mechanic Association. He has spent much of his career working with nonprofits. BDN, Sept. 18LWV forum, Oct. 7

On the ballot as
Pratt, Joseph Martin
Ballot position
7 of 12
Age
63
Work
Head of the wealth management group at Bar Harbor Bank and Trust
Ties to Bangor
Lived in Bangor most of his life; returned in 1992 after military service
Party
Republican
Council meetings attended
Not reported
Public record
No prior elected office reported. Took part in the League of Women Voters candidate forum, Oct. 7, 2026.

Where Pratt stands

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

Homelessness

Says city leaders should learn from cities that reduced homelessness, such as Houston, Denver and Baltimore. Opposes Yellen Pines and would fund existing local organizations instead. BDN, Sept. 18 1:39:19 5:48

Drug use and syringe programs

Would not have backed the proposed ban on new syringe programs. Wants programs to show community benefit and the city to track HIV rates, overdoses and needle litter. BDN, Sept. 18 5:40

Public safety and policing

Says police enforce the law as the council directs, under the homeless crisis protocol the council chose to adopt in 2024; the council must change that policy for enforcement to change. LWV forum, Oct. 7 2:41:21

Housing and rent

Opposes the Yellen Pines development. BDN, Sept. 18

Property taxes and the city budget

Concerned about rising property taxes. Would broaden the tax base, citing residency, excise and local sales taxes as options. For seniors, floated a property tax freeze or elimination at age 70 and a larger homestead exemption (which would need state action), saying the numbers would need study. BDN, Sept. 18LWV forum, Oct. 7 2:13:16 8:33

Jobs, business and the economy

Supports tax incentives for for-profit employers that create jobs, offered as readily as to nonprofits. Wants to attract businesses and young families. BDN, Sept. 18Fox Bangor, Sept. 22 1:21:45 1:57:41

How the council works

Top priority is civility and better communication. Wants the city to share information directly and says the council should have sought more input on the Ohio Street reclassification. BDN, Sept. 18 2:26:01 5:29

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.No Wants to study data centers' impact, but does not favor a moratorium. 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 Prefers requiring programs to show their value to the community within a set time. 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 With conditions: the coordinator would report back with a plan to meet set goals. BDN, Oct. 7
Increased school budgetThe School Committee proposed a $65.8 million budget, up 5.6% from the year before.Yes Gives the council and School Committee the benefit of the doubt; notes repairs needed at Fairmount School. 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 Says all levels of law enforcement should cooperate. 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 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 Opposes 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

We will do so with compassion, but we must accept the idea that our well-intended policies have made Bangor a very attractive destination for these individuals... Let's admit that the current city council policies are not working. We need change.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Why I'm running 1:14:59

In the short term, we might want to think about some other options. For example, a property tax freeze or an elimination once you hit a certain age. We'd have to run the numbers.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Keeping seniors in their homes 2:13:16

The mandate for the Bangor Police Department comes from the Bangor City Council... So, the council needs to change the policy, and only then will the Bangor Police Department enforce the law.

League of Women Voters forum, Oct. 7, 2026Downtown, homelessness and the police 2:41:21

I think that there needs to be more accountability tied to those needle exchanges than what exists currently.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Syringes 5:40

I don't expect that the Bangor city council is going to solve homelessness... But I think if we reach out to some of those communities that apparently have done an effective job... we may have some improvement here.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Homelessness 5:48

Are there local sales taxes that we could impose that would broaden that tax burden so that it's not borne so heavily on the property taxpayers?

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026City spending 9:16

During the public comment portion of the planning board meeting, no one spoke to support this change. Every speaker rose to oppose it.

Public comment, City Council, Jan. 28, 2026Public hearing on a street definition change 1:00:55

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 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: How City Council candidates say they'll reduce homelessness in Bangor

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.

  • Concerned Citizens of Bangor (political action committee) BDN, Oct. 9
  • Frank Bragg, board president, Bangor Public Library Campaign site
  • Brad Coffey, board member, Maine Planned Giving Council Campaign site
  • Rick Fournier, Bangor Public Library Finance Committee member and former Bangor City Council chair Campaign site
  • Nichi Farnham, vice president, Bangor Mechanic Association, and former Bangor City Council chair Campaign site
  • Dennis Marble, past executive director, Bangor Area Homeless Shelter Campaign site

Sources

Last checked Oct. 13, 2026.