Bangor council censures Councilor Joseph Leonard for obscene gesture, pen-throwing; vote 5-2
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Summary
The council voted 5-2 to censure Councilor Joseph Leonard for raising his middle finger and throwing a pen during an Oct. 27 meeting; debate centered on proportionality, prior failures to stop hate speech and whether the censure advances public safety or merely enforces decorum.
The Bangor City Council voted to adopt Order 25-313, censuring Councilor Joseph Leonard for an "inappropriate public gesture and action" recorded at the Oct. 27 meeting, when the order states he raised his middle finger and threw a pen in the direction of a member of the public.
The censure order, introduced by the chair and citing Section 33-1 of the city's code of ethics and provisions of the city council guidelines, states the conduct "fell well short of these required standards of conduct" and that council members must "act with civility and preserve order and decorum during city council meetings." A councilor moved to postpone the order indefinitely; that motion failed for lack of a second.
Public comment on the censure was split. Supporters of Leonard argued his reaction was a human response to sustained white-supremacist speech. Scott Pardee told the council Leonard's actions were a necessary rebuke of "white supremacist rhetoric," and several commenters called the censure "a bad show" and urged the council to prioritize protecting residents from hate speech. Opponents, including Hillary Simmons and others, said "leadership isn't about matching anger with anger" and urged the council to model composure so residents feel safe attending meetings.
Council debate reflected the split. Some councilors argued the gesture and pen-throwing were intimidating and could make residents reluctant to return to the podium; Councilor Haas said people who had attended the prior meeting reported feeling "threatened" and "fearful" and supported the censure on those grounds. Other councilors said the council had failed previously to stop hate speech and that Leonard's actions, while perhaps improper, were motivated by a desire to defend vulnerable people.
In the roll-call vote, the council recorded five votes in favor and two opposed and the chair announced the order had passed. The censure is a formal disciplinary statement citing ethical and procedural standards; the meeting record does not show a statutory penalty or removal associated with the order. The chair closed the meeting following the vote.
The council did not adopt additional enforcement steps tied to the censure on penalties or restitution. Several councilors and public commenters urged development of clearer public-comment verification and enforcement policies to prevent disruptive and hateful callers from recurring in future meetings.
