Oct. 20—HAMPDEN — Susan Taylor shuffles behind the counter of the public library in this Penobscot County suburb.
The 66-year-old extends a warm welcome to young parents who come with children for story time and retirees looking for the latest good reading material. But when it comes to political matters, Taylor keeps his clients at a distance.
“I try not to talk about politics unless I know who I’m talking to,” she said, calling herself the only “right of center” member of her family. “It has become more difficult in recent years. The parties are just so polarized.”
It’s a common refrain in interviews with locals here. People are both reluctant to participate in debates or conversations about issues, but also eager to return to a time and place where that was possible.
“There aren’t many places for real disagreement anymore,” Taylor explained. “People will nod in agreement and then post the opposite on social media.”
Located on the west bank of the Penobscot River, Hampden is a bedroom community of Bangor and still growing. The population has increased by 22% since 1990, more than twice as fast as the state as a whole. Young families with children are lured by the good schools and the slower pace of life.
Although the town has been reliably conservative — there are 38% to 30% more registered Republicans than Democrats — Hampden is one of a handful of communities in Maine that voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016 but switched to Democrat Joe Biden four years later to support. . Others included Auburn and Sanford.
Will the weather turn? Has the city become an election battleground?
Vice President Kamala Harris has a modest lead overall in Maine, according to the few public polls released, but Trump has the edge among voters in the vast, largely rural 2nd Congressional District where Hampden sits.
“Hampden has changed demographically and possibly politically, (although) that remains to be seen,” said Shelby Wright, who moved here from North Carolina in 2005 and has been active in local politics. She is running as an independent candidate for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives.
“I’ve knocked on so many doors in the city and I feel like people all want the same thing: a future for children if they have one, reasonable property taxes, good jobs, infrastructure, health care. But they are exhausted almost everywhere. governance, regardless of age or party, from the constant game of finger-pointing and blaming.”
Mandy Barrington, 33, lives in nearby Carmel but visits Hampden regularly, including to the library with her two young children.
She pays a lot of attention to politics, but like others, chooses her words carefully when talking to a reporter.
“What really matters to me is the character of leaders,” she said. “It’s kind of sad that we’re not seeing much of that right now.”
Until recently, Barrington worked at the University of Maine in Orono, a liberal college town that she says feels very different from the rural town she calls home.
“I just try to have authentic conversations, but it’s hard to be a thoughtful citizen in both spaces,” she said.
Is it harder now?
‘Absolute. One hundred percent,” Barrington said. “You walk on your toes and have objective conversations without showing your cards.”
Although she doesn’t mention Trump by name, it’s clear who she means when she talks about character. She also doesn’t seem sold on Harris and declined to say who she plans to vote for.
Across town, in a playground, Meagan Brasslett watches her 5-year-old daughter Leigha make mushroom pizza from wood chips.
Brasslett homeschools her daughter, a trend she says has caught on.
“I have a lot of friends who have been through the whole homeschool kick,” she said. “There’s so much politics going on these days about sending your child to school.”
Brasslett said many of those friends are also angry about the vaccine mandates.
Brasslett, 35, grew up in Hampden and was surprised to learn that the city had shifted from Trump to Biden between 2016 and 2020.
“I’m shocked,” she said. “I thought Trump had really won everyone over, to be honest. I didn’t want to like him at first, but then I liked him. I still think he’s a good guy.”
As for Harris, Brasslett said she expects her to win, but that makes her nervous.
“She’s very flip-floppy,” she said. “I don’t know where she is.”
“I love my slippers,” said 5-year-old Leigha.
The city does not have many real meeting places, but Coffee Break Café is one of them.
By late morning, the small restaurant at the intersection of Western Avenue and Main Road is busy.
Owner Laurie Wilbur said she has noticed people talking about politics less often than they used to, and she’s fine with that.
Robert Drew, 71, enjoys a late breakfast a few times a week. Drew likes to sit alone at the counter and listen to the conversations around him. But when it comes to his own politics, he keeps a close eye on it.
“You don’t know where people come from,” he said. “It’s harder now. So I try not to say too much.”
He comes from a family of Republicans and if pressed, he would say he leans that way too. But much of that national conversation doesn’t feel all that relevant to his life.
Linda and Jerry Sherrard, 78 and 82 respectively, are also regulars.
Both are retired and their views are traditionally conservative, but they did not say Trump has their support.
“I think people are tired of all the promises. They’ll do anything to get elected,” Jerry said, apparently referring to all the candidates. ‘And people get tired of that hassle. The media is just as bad as the politicians.’
When asked what is most important to them, the Sherrards said: Social Security and spending.
“We’re sending billions of dollars abroad, but a lot of that money could be used here,” Jerry said.
“This immigration thing is starting to become a big topic too,” Linda added.
She is referring to reports that the city of Bangor is preparing to welcome as many as 150 immigrant families in the coming weeks.
Like others, the Sherrards treat their own views lightly.
“Everyone should be entitled to their opinion without being afraid to speak up,” Jerry said. “People may be close to the same thing, but they will beat each other up.”
Back at the library, Ted Sherwood returns books.
He is 82, retired from the property industry and has lived in Hampden since 1989.
When told that Hampden supported Trump in 2016 and then Biden in 2020, Sherwood said he was surprised.
“I thought this was clearly a red community,” he said.
So, does it change?
“I hope so,” he replied.
Sherwood said issues like the economy, which he said is improving, and immigration, which has been a problem for decades, are of less concern to him.
“I’m more concerned that Donald Trump may never return to the White House,” he said. “I don’t know how politicians can say something that you know is absolutely untrue and 40 million people shake their heads yes. It’s so sad, isn’t it?”
Sherwood agreed with others that a polarized country had made it more difficult to live in equanimity with its neighbors. Some friends of his were recently confronted after placing Harris/Walz signs on their lawn.
“A hundred years ago I studied political science and I like to talk about politics,” he said. ‘But you can’t talk about politics anymore. You can’t hang out with friends because you’re so afraid you’re going to say something.’
The tension Sherwood talked about lives just beneath the surface of this community. There has always been a division between the farmers and the Rotarians; the farmers and the professionals; the lifelong residents and the newcomers.
Taylor, the librarian, said the city’s social structure has changed in ways that have eroded the sense of belonging. Politics has played a significant role.
Wright, the independent parliamentary candidate, said this is consistent with what she is seeing and hearing, but she is not sure the situation is hopeless. She said that while many people are fiercely partisan, their behavior relaxes almost immediately when she tells residents she is operating as an independent.
“There is more middle ground than is reported on a daily basis,” she said. “People want the best for each other. If someone needs help, you don’t ask if he is a Harris or Trump supporter.”
HAMPDEN AT A GLANCE:
County: Penobscot
Population: 7,709
2016 presidential election results: Trump (R) 48% vs. Clinton (D) 44%
2020 Presidential Election Results: Biden (D) 50% vs. Trump (R) 46%
2022 gubernatorial election results: Mills (D) 50% vs. LePage (R) 47%
Registered voters: 5,619
Voter breakdown: 2,138 Republicans (38%), 1,687 Democrats (30%), and 1,498 nonenrollees (27%)
Facts: Named after the English patriot John Hampden. Birthplace of Dorothea Dix, a social and political activist who stood up for the rights of people with mental illness.
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