LEWISTON — Kiernan Majerus-Collins, chairman of the Lewiston Democratic Party, has announced his candidacy for the Lewiston School Committee in Ward 3.

It is his first run for office.

The Ward 3 seat is held by Francis Gagnon.

Kiernan Majerus-Collins has announced his candidacy for the Lewiston School Committee in Ward 3. Submitted photo

Majerus-Collins, 23, is a consultant for nonprofits. He is a recent graduate of Bates College and serves on the city’s Voter Registration Appeals Board.

“I’m running for the School Committee to reduce class sizes, invest in extracurricular activities, and eliminate carbon pollution from Lewiston public schools by 2030,” Majerus-Collins said. “Every student in our city deserves an excellent education.”

Eliminating carbon pollution from Lewiston schools by 2030 is a bold but achievable goal, he said in a news release.
“Doing so will show Lewiston’s students that we are doing everything possible to protect the planet they will inherit, and make our city a national leader in the fight against climate change.”

If he is elected to the committee for 2020 and 2021, he said, “We need to do a study to determine what exactly Lewiston public schools’ existing carbon footprint is, and then begin to implement the changes necessary to reduce and eventually eliminate it.”

Specific policy changes could include better insulation for school buildings, a commitment to purchase electricity from renewable sources, replacing diesel- and gas-powered vehicles with electric ones, and pushing to make walking or biking to school safer and easier, Majeru-Collins said.

“These are by no means the only possible policy changes that could be pursued, and we should look at and learn from efforts by other school districts, including the San Francisco Unified School District, to reduce and eliminate carbon pollution in their schools,” he said. “When it comes to fighting climate change, I’m open to any and all ideas.”

Majerus-Collins is single. He has been chairman of the Lewiston Democratic Party since 2017. He’s active with the First Universalist Church of Auburn where he’s a member of the choir and director of the Children’s Choir.

He majored in history and minored in Asian studies at Bates College.

He described himself as “a big fan of dogs, history books and the Boston Red Sox.”