Government and Schools
Bangor has had a Council-Manager form of government since 1931, with a nine-member City Council. Three city councilors are elected to three-year terms each year. Although Bangor has no elected "Mayor", the Chair of the City Council is elected by fellow councilors and often informally referred to as the City's Mayor, serving in this role when there is a ceremonial need for a Mayor.
In 1996, Bangor's City Council was the first in North America to unanimously approve a resolution opposing the sale of sweat-shop produced clothing in local stores.
Bangor and Augusta have together produced the largest number of Governors of Maine (nine each, including two non-consecutive terms by Edward Kent). This list includes immediate past governor, Democrat John Baldacci, and the last Republican governor, John McKernan. A number of others were born or lived in suburban towns such as Brewer, Hampden, and Orono.
Bangor has two major secondary schools, the publicly run Bangor High School and the private John Bapst Memorial High School. There are also two public middle schools and one private, and an extensive elementary school system.
Read more about this topic: Bangor, Maine
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“... it were impossible for a people to be more completely identified with their government than are the Americans. In considering it, they seem to feel, “It is ours, we have created it, and we support it; it exists for our protection and service; it lives as the breath of our mouths; and, while it answers the ends for which we decreed it, so long shall it stand, and nought shall prevail against it.””
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