VoteBangor Powered by MaineScanner
Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3 Polls 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center
10

Candidate for Bangor City Council · Nov. 3, 2026

Katherine Devine

Top priority: Rethink how the city handles drugs and homelessness. BDN, Sept. 23

About Katherine

Devine has testified on bills at the State House and worked on political campaigns, including with Maine Girl Dads. Her views were shaped partly by the Blessed Hope sober living program run by Calvary Chapel Bangor. She is expecting her first child. BDN, Sept. 23LWV forum, Oct. 7

On the ballot as
Devine, Katherine Signe
Ballot position
10 of 12
Age
21
Work
Nanny
Ties to Bangor
About three years in the Bangor area; moved downtown this year
Party
Declined to say to the BDN; told a podcaster she is a Republican
Council meetings attended
One meeting in person this year; 10 to 15 online
Public record
No prior elected office reported. Did not take part in the League of Women Voters candidate forum, Oct. 7, 2026.

Where Devine stands

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

Homelessness

Says the city has lost sight of genuine care and that real help is not a handout. Would redirect money now spent on housing programs toward mental health care, including staffing and more beds at Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center. BDN, Sept. 23Fox Bangor 7:25

Drug use and syringe programs

Sees syringe exchanges as handouts that should be further restricted. Wants programs focused on accountability and recovery. Would put more opioid settlement money into mental health care such as Dorothea Dix, including sober housing stays of a week or more. BDN, Sept. 23BDN, Oct. 5 8:19

Public safety and policing

No public position found in the sources we reviewed.

Housing and rent

Opposes Yellen Pines, saying it would not truly help without sobriety or employment requirements. BDN, Sept. 23

Property taxes and the city budget

Warns that programs now paid for with opioid settlement money could push property taxes up when that money runs out, and wants spending cut on programs she says are not working. BDN, Oct. 5 11:36

Jobs, business and the economy

Wants to cut construction red tape so more buildings can be renovated into apartments. BDN, Oct. 5

How the council works

Says State House experience would help calm tensions and rebuild trust, and that she values compromise. BDN, Sept. 23 7:34

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 Says AI needs more research before large-scale use in Bangor. 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 Wants to reevaluate syringe programs before any new ones open. 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 Would need details, but unlikely to support more funding. BDN, Oct. 7
Increased school budgetThe School Committee proposed a $65.8 million budget, up 5.6% from the year before.Yes Understands the increase given rising prices, but wants to see how the money is used. 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 ICE agents are doing their jobs and the city should help them. 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 the project a waste of money. 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

Did not take part in the League of Women Voters forum on Oct. 7, 2026. Quotes and clips are from the Bangor Daily News video interviews and City Council meetings. LWV forum, Oct. 7

I would pursue a policy that allows people to go into a mental health care facility and get the help that they need in order to stand up on their feet.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Homelessness 7:25

I think that changing minds to see that there's a better way to show love to people that isn't just handouts.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Working with the council 7:34

I would again put more of the opioid settlement funds into the mental health care facilities, specifically [Dorothea Dix] in the area. Open up some more beds or get staffing to be able to use the beds that we already have.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026Syringes 8:19

The money that we're dumping into programs that aren't working could see another higher rise in property taxes once it becomes the burden of the taxpayer to support those programs.

BDN video interview, Oct. 5, 2026City spending 11:36

Watch them answer

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

Did not take part in the League of Women Voters forum on Oct. 7, 2026. Quotes and clips are from the Bangor Daily News video interviews and City Council meetings. LWV forum, Oct. 7

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.