Bangor council delays ethics decision on Mallar, rejects conflict motions against Beck and Faloon

The Bangor City Council voted 4-3 to reject a motion finding Councilor Michael Beck had a conflict of interest on the city's immigration ordinance, then rejected a similar motion against Councilor Susan Faloon. The council also voted 7-0 to postpone discussion of an ethics board advisory opinion finding Councilor Wayne Mallar violated three provisions of the city's ethics code until its June 8 workshop, when Mallar can attend in person.

Key points

• Councilor Carolyn Fish moved to find Councilor Michael Beck had a conflict of interest on order 26-095, the immigration ordinance, citing his public statements and outreach to the ACLU; the motion failed 4-3, with Fish, Hawes and Mallar in favor.
• Fish then moved to find Councilor Susan Faloon had a conflict of interest on the same order; that motion also failed.
• Councilors Beck, Faloon, Leonard and Deane said they did not see a conflict, with Leonard calling the issue the will of the voters and Deane saying Beck should have consulted the city solicitor first.
• City Solicitor David Szewczyk reported the Board of Ethics concluded Mallar violated three ethics code provisions during an August 2025 historic preservation commission meeting, and found no violation on a fourth.
• The council voted 7-0 to postpone its discussion of the ethics opinion to the June 8 workshop so Mallar, attending by Zoom, could be present in person.
• City Manager Carollynn Lear announced a Saturday ceremony naming the Talbot Trail for Gerald Talbot, and said Senator Collins included the airport's $4.2 million and the police department's roughly $165,000 forensic lab requests in congressional spending.

Next steps

• The council will take up the ethics board's advisory opinion on Councilor Mallar at its next regular workshop on June 8, with Mallar present in person.
• Staff will bring the council a proposed amendment to the ethics code setting out procedures for handling ethics board advisory opinions.
• The city will communicate any weather-related change to Saturday's 11:30 a.m. Talbot Trail naming ceremony.

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