City Government Committees & Council Assignments Council Bios Committees & Council Contact Info
Council Chair
Term Expires 2010
Richard Stone was born and raised in Bangor, and received a degree in finance at Northeastern University. He is a former Director for WESCO Distribution, the parent company of Standard Electric Company, and a father of four children. He served on the Bangor City Council for six years during the late 1980’s, and then was elected to the Maine House of Representatives.
Telephone: 207-990-2326
Councilor Patricia Blanchette
Term Expires 2012
Councilor Blanchette serves on the Government Operations Committee, Infrastructure Committee and the Airport Committee.
Telephone: 207-942-8692
1-800-423-2900
Councilor Richard Bronson
Term Expires 2011
Richard B. (Rick) Bronson, Jr. was born in Portland, Maine in 1947. The Bronson family moved to Bangor in 1949 when Rick’s father along with others began to develop and then build WABI-TV. He attended The University of Maine and Husson University graduating from Husson with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Later he attended Eastern Maine Community College receiving an associate degree in fire science. Rick began a career operating a group of small business in Bangor in 1966. Primary among those businesses was Rick Bronson Productions a production services company which provided talent buying, personnel, equipment and consultation for event production in and around Bangor for more than 30 years. Late in the 1990s Rick successfully sold all elements of the production company to other interested parties with the exception of seasonal portable stage construction and rentals. That endeavor continues today as Bronson Stage Rentals, primarily operating from Portland. Simultaneous with operating the production company Rick entered the City of Brewer’s Fire Department in 1974 as a paid on-call firefighter. Over the years he advanced in that department through the ranks to become a lieutenant and then the department’s post fire investigator. In 1999 he became the Chief of the department, the position he still holds today.
His older daughter, Melanie, and her husband have four children living in Bangor. His younger daughter, Emilie, is a senior at Northeastern University in Boston. Rick is married to Angelia Levesque a Bangor real estate broker and owner and operator of the Subway Sandwich franchise at the corner of State and Essex Streets in Bangor.
Councilor Bronson chairs the Finance Committee.
richard.b.bronson@hotmail.com
Telephone: 207-942-4531
Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick
Term Expires 2012
Geoff Gratwick is a physician who has practiced in Bangor for 25 years. Following his medical training in New York City, he taught at a medical school in Iran, and sailed for a year with his wife before moving here. He has been on the Executive Committee of Eastern Maine Medical Center and Chaired the Maine Humanities Council. His two children attended Bangor public schools. His interests include economic development, conserving our natural environment, and citizen participation in City government.
Councilor Gratwick chairs the Government Operations Committee and serves the Business and Economic Development Committee.
Telephone: 207-945-9442
Councilor Susan Hawes
Term Expires 2010
Susan was born in Bangor and resides on Buck Street with her husband Alan. She is employed as an Office Manager for Neurosurgery of Maine and Focus Eye Care of Maine. Susan is also a Certified Medical Assistant and currently sits on the American Association of Medical Assistants Certifying Board. Susan also has past experience as Director of the Medical Assisting Program at Husson College and as instructor of Medical Assisting at Beal College. Susan’s education includes an A.S. Degree in Medical Assisting from Beal College, B.S. Degree in Business Administration from Husson College, M.S. Degree Business Administration from Husson College. Susan is a Parliamentarian, a CPR Instructor Trainer/Instructor and a Master Trainer of the U.S. Army Family Program. Susan holds memberships in Medical Group Manager’s Association, Altrusa International, Eastern Star, Daughters of the Nile, AAMA and the Maine State Society of Medical Assistants, holding officer positions in most.
Councilor Hawes chairs the Infrastructure Committee and serves on the Airport Committee.
Telephone: 207-942-6830
Councilor David Nealley
Term Expires 2011 
David was born in Bangor in 1961 and graduated from Bangor High School and then the University of Southern Maine, where he secured a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration.
Nealley spent eight years in the financial services industry as an investment advisor and another eight years as the General Manger of Snow & Nealley Company, a manufacturer of axes and garden tools. Later, David worked on a successful referendum initiative for Bangor Historic Track resulting in one of the largest economic developments in Bangor, Hollywood Slots. Nealley was a licensed realtor with ERA Dawson Real Estate and worked for AutoTrader.com the #1 site for auto sales. David was also employed by Webster Atlantic for two years. Currently, he is working for Nealley Consulting & Business Development L.L.C.
David is a member of the YMCA Foundation and The Mainely Music Chorus. This is his second term on the Bangor City Council. In his first term 2001-2004, he served on the Finance, Business and Economic Development, Transportation and Infrastructure and Regional Asset Committees.
Councilor Nealley is a voting member of the Finance and Business and Economic Development Committees.
Telephone: 207-944-6888
Councilor Gerry GM Palmer, Jr.
Term Expires 2011
Gerry Palmer was born and raised in Bangor Maine and attended Bangor Public Schools. He is a graduate of the University of Maine at Orono with a degree in Special Education. He also holds a Certificate in Human Resource Management.
Mr. Palmer has been employed as an educator by United Cerebral Palsy and Amicus. He was a Child Development Worker for the Bureau of Mental Retardation and the first Resource Developer in the State of Maine developing housing and day programs for adults and children served. He administered several group homes and managed the Therapeutic Foster Home program of Community Health and Counseling.
For the past 15 years Gerry has been the managing partner for Palmer Lee & Grace, an independent career management and outplacement agency and former Executive Director of Northeast CONTACT, the oldest grassroots consumer advocacy and mediation organization in America.
Gerry has been elected to the Bangor City Council four times beginning in 1998 and was appointed by the Governor as Treasurer of Penobscot County, 2000 to 2002. He completed his term as Council Chair from November 2008 to November 2009. As a Bangor City Councilor, Gerry has chaired Business & Economic, Finance, Airport, Bass Park, Government Operations, and several other committees. He served on the Halifax Pre-clearance Committee, which negotiated a complex international agreement with the Halifax Airport. Gerry also represented the City of Bangor at the September 11th Memorial Service held in Saint John, New Brunswick in 2002. Mr. Palmer has been a Notary Public in Maine since 1977 and a Dedimus Justice since 2004.
Gerry serves on the board of directors of several agencies including the McTeague Biotechnology Center in Fairfield, Penquis CAP, and was appointed to the Pineland Consent Decree Consumer Advisory Board.
Mr. Palmer resides in Bangor and is married to Susan H. Palmer, RN. They have seven adult children and two grandchildren.
Councilor Palmer chairs the Airport Committee.
Telephone: 207-944-8000
Councilor Cary Weston
Term Expires 2012
Cary is a lifelong resident of Bangor and attended Fairmount, Fifth Street and Bangor High Schools. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maine in 1994. After graduating from the University of Maine, Cary worked with the sports and recreation programming for the both the YMCA of Bangor and the Town of Hampden's Parks and Recreation Department. In 1995, Cary led a collaboration of Hampden's school and municipal resources to create a before and after school childcare program for the town called "Kids Korner", a program that continues to thrive today. Cary is a 2004 graduate of the Bangor Region Leadership Institute and the founding chair of Fusion: Bangor, an organization founded for the promotion of young professionals to become engaged in the social, economic and cultural environment of the community. Cary is a member of the Bangor Rotary and has served on a number of community boards and committees, including board member the Penobscot Theatre, Bangor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Realize!Maine and My Friend's Place. Cary is a partner of Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications, a full service advertising and public relations firm located in Bangor. Cary resides in Bangor with his wife Tori, a veterinarian at Bangor Veterinarian Hospital, daughters Madelyn and Serena, and the world's best neighborhood watch dog, Otis.
Councilor Weston chairs the Business and Economic Development Committee and serves on the Finance Committee.
Website: www.caryweston.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cary_weston
Facebook: www.facebook.com/caryweston
Term Expires 2012
cary@caryweston.com
Telephone: 478-5720
Councilor Harold A. (Hal) Wheeler
Term Expires 2010
Harold A. (Hal) Wheeler has been a Bangor resident since late 1945. He received his public school education from third grade through high school in the Bangor public school system, and earned a degree in History and Government at the University of Maine, Class of 1959. Hal's first chosen career was in broadcasting. He worked as an announcer and advertising sales representative for WLBZ Radio and as an announcer for WABI Radio from 1957 to 1968, when he moved full-time into the advertising business. Hal owned and operated an advertising/public relations and marketing firm from 1969 to 1987, when he accepted a contractual position as a marketing representative with the City of Bangor's Economic Development Department. In 1991, he returned to broadcasting as Program Director of WDEA in Ellsworth and in 1992 became General Sales Manager for WZON, Bangor. In 1993 he became Operations Manager of WSNV-FM (now WVOM) in Bangor and in 1995 was appointed as Station Manager. He also co-hosted the station's morning talk show for two years. In 1998, Hal became a substitute teacher at Penobscot Job Corps, where he worked with students of several nationalities until 2005. Since 1972, Hal served on a number of City Council appointed Committees, as a member of the City Council (1983-1986), and as Vice Chairman of the Planning Board (2000-2006). His interests outside of public life include music (trumpet player), photography, free-lance writing, reading American political and military history, and serving as a Licensed Lay Minister for St. John's Episcopal Church. He is also affiliated with the Congregation Beth Israel. He is married to Deborah Dorsky Wheeler and is the father of one daughter, Johanna Wheeler, a medical transcriptionist.
Councilor Wheeler currently serves on the Infrastructure Committee and the Government Operations Committee.
Telephone number: 207-942-8051