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Resident urges Brewer to cut ties with Food AND Medicine; city officials say no public funding provided
Summary
During public comment at the May 12 Brewer City Council meeting, Bangor resident Richard Ward urged the city to end funding and partnerships with Food AND Medicine, alleging anti-white language and fraud; the City Public Safety Director, City Manager and City Assessor responded that city enforcement and tax assessment are applied without regard to race and that the city provides no public funds to the nonprofit.
A Bangor resident criticized the local nonprofit Food AND Medicine during public comments at the Brewer City Council meeting on May 12 and urged the city to end funding and partnerships with the organization.
Richard Ward told the Council he was concerned about “anti-white hatred” and alleged fraud involving immigrant-run home healthcare agencies, and said Food AND Medicine’s website included anti-white language and supported candidates in other municipalities. Ward urged the Council to cut City funding, grants and partnerships with Food AND Medicine.
The City Public Safety Director responded that “justice in the City of Brewer was colorblind,” adding that enforcement in Brewer treats everyone equally and that the department respected constitutional rights; the director noted an incident resulted only in a warning for obstructing a public way and that it had been misconstrued by some as a civil-rights violation. City Manager Eric Glidden clarified that “the City of Brewer provided no public funds to Food AND Medicine.” The City Assessor said property tax exemption was determined by State law and encouraged Ward to raise concerns with his legislator. Councilor Dani O’Halloran defended the nonprofit, saying she had “never seen anything they had done that was not color-blind.”
No formal action was taken by the Council in response to the public comments.
The exchange was recorded in the minutes to document the concerns raised and the official responses from city staff and Council members.
