Ben Chin announces his candidacy for the mayor of Lewiston on Thursday evening at Museum L-A in the Bates Mill Complex in Lewiston.
LEWISTON — Ben Chin, who was narrowly defeated in a high-profile runoff election for mayor in 2015, announced Thursday he intends to run for the seat again this year.
Chin revealed his mayoral bid Thursday during an event at Museum L-A following a week of speculation over what the public announcement would be. He said his campaign will be “about redefining the role of policymakers in Lewiston” by building a movement.
“What I’m here today to announce is not that I am running for mayor, because one person can’t overcome the interests of the wealthy and powerful by themselves. What I am here to announce is that I will put my name on the ballot so that we can run for mayor,” he told the audience Thursday.
A diverse group of more than 100 people packed the mill space, with loud applause coming after Chin’s announcement. His supporters lined the wall behind him as he laid out his vision for the city.
On Wednesday, Chin told the Sun Journal that Lewiston has become a city known for having circular arguments on issues like housing and immigration, and needs a leader who can focus on solutions.
“If you have a mayor who’s willing to articulate big, substantive ideas, build a lot of public support and organize a movement of people, that’s a really good formula,” he said.
He told the audience Thursday that he wants Lewiston to be “America’s great comeback story.”
In 2015, Chin lost to Mayor Robert Macdonald in a runoff by a vote of 4,398 to 3,826, after a campaign that received national attention over its contentious tone that seemed to mirror national politics.
In Lewiston, the mayor conducts City Council meetings and votes only when a councilor abstains or is absent. But Chin believes the mayor has the ability to drive the city’s broader policy vision.
Chin first took to social media last week, teasing Thursday’s announcement with an 11-minute video that has since been viewed nearly 3,000 times. During the video he reflected on the 2015 campaign, as well as the recent presidential election.
He said Donald Trump’s presidency marks an important moment in history, and that he’s since been asking himself how he should respond.
He said the decision to run was difficult because of his young family. He and his wife, Nicola Chin, are expecting their second child this year. He said he wants his daughter “to be able to look back and say that her dad took a risk to believe that regular people can come together to make change.”
Chin is the political engagement director for the Maine People’s Alliance.
Nicola Chin, who introduced her husband during the event, said Chin “loves this community fiercely.”
Although rumors circulated about a possible run at a state or congressional seat, Chin said he’s running for mayor because he believes big changes can be made locally, as opposed to the gridlocked politics in Washington, D.C., and even Augusta.
“City staff can’t put forward controversial ideas,” he said in his speech. “City councilors can get a mandate only from their ward. Even a mayor normally can’t do this because they are only one person. Together we can create a vision bigger than any of us, that takes all of us to realize, that puts to rest the circular arguments that divide us, in order to make a future worthy of our children.”
His platform for this year will focus on housing, the opioid crisis and immigrant integration, he said.
Chin said he has a few regrets from the 2015 election. One of them, he said, is the handling of his campaign’s finances.
Chin’s 2015 campaign managed to raise a staggering $90,000 in donations, with $10,000 coming from within Lewiston.
Macdonald ended up raising $5,800. Of that total, $4,245 came after the initial Nov. 3 ballot.
“I think people had a hard time understanding how we raised so much money,” Chin said in the video last week. “We weren’t planning on it.”
Chin said Wednesday that this time around, his campaign will limit individual contributions to $100.
He said his campaign didn’t do a good job of talking about the unexpected financial support, and that they should’ve made it more clear that the support was mostly coming from smaller donations.
He said a criticism his campaign also heard “loud and clear” was that they knocked on too many doors, too many times.
Perhaps the most controversial moment in the campaign came when downtown landlord Joe Dunne crafted anti-Chin signs that read, “Don’t Vote for Ho Chi Chin. Vote for more jobs not more welfare.”
The signs were immediately called out for being racist, but Dunne maintained they were in reference to Chin’s “far-left” political views.
The mayoral race will have a different look this year, however. Macdonald is serving his third term as mayor, which is the last consecutive term allowed by the Lewiston City Charter. No other candidate has formally announced an intention to run.
Chin said that after witnessing the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and its grass-roots power, he’s been disappointed that state political leaders haven’t “picked up the mantle” of forwarding a “clear, bold vision.”
Lewiston, he said, is a very symbolic city for the rest of the state. He believes that if a community transformation can happen locally, it could spark similar results elsewhere.
“Our worst moments make national news, so I don’t know why our best moments couldn’t also,” he said.
Also speaking during the event Thursday were John Grenier, owner of Rainbow Bicycle; Melissa Stevens, a single mother and minimum-wage worker; Hawo Abdille, a Somali immigrant, and City Councilor Jim Lysen.
Abdille told the crowd, simply, “We need Ben.”
Following remarks, Chin said he’ll be looking for interaction with residents and to schedule campaign events to discuss specific issues.
Since the defeat in 2015, Chin has worked on statewide campaigns to raise the minimum wage and to tax high income-earners to fund public education.
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