LEWISTON — The list of candidates for the Nov. 5 election features a mix of incumbents, new faces and a number of uncontested races.
The races for mayor, City Council and School Committee — all of which are up for election every two years — were announced late Friday by City Clerk Kathy Montejo.
While there are a total of eight races that feature a single candidate, City Administrator Ed Barrett said Tuesday that has not been uncommon in Lewiston, which has seats based on seven wards.
The municipal election in 2017 featured seven uncontested races. There were only five in 2015, but 2013 also saw seven.
Here’s a rundown of whose names will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot:
MAYOR
The mayor’s race in Lewiston comes on the heels of controversy earlier this year, when Shane Bouchard resigned following the release of text messages that showed racist and sexist comments.
Since then, former Ward 5 Councilor Kristen Cloutier has been serving as mayor, but Cloutier is not seeking re-election for either mayor or the Ward 5 council seat. Cloutier also serves in the Maine Legislature.
The race will be between two former councilors, Tim Lajoie and Mark Cayer, and frequent candidate Charles Soule.
Campaign signs for Lajoie and Cayer can already be seen along Lewiston roads and both former councilors have maintained a strong presence on social media.
CITY COUNCIL
The City Council will likely see a high turnover this fall, despite a few uncontested races for sitting councilors.
Ward 1: Longtime councilor and former Lewiston Planning Director Jim Lysen will not seek re-election, and will support newcomer candidate Safiya Khalid.
Khalid, whose family emigrated from Somalia a decade ago, graduated from Lewiston High School and ran unsuccessfully for School Committee two years ago. Lysen said he plans to help Khalid campaign and he’s hopeful Khalid can provide representation to the city’s New Mainers population.
Khalid has worked as a field organizer for the Maine Democratic Party in Lewiston and has been the clerk for the Labor and Housing Committee in the Legislature.
Also running for the Ward 1 seat is Walter Morrissette Hill, who joined the race late. Hill ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2011 and 2013 and is a former School Committee member and former vice chairman of the Lewiston Planning Board. He originally announced his candidacy for School Committee in May.
Linda Scott, a former three-term member of the School Committee, appeared on the candidate list this summer, but she announced on social media Aug. 20 that she was withdrawing.
Ward 2: Councilor Zack Pettengill is running for re-election against Donna Gillespie.
Gillespie, a retired Department of Health and Human Services caseworker, also ran for the seat in 2017.
Ward 3: Councilor Alicia Rea is running unopposed for re-election. Rea has served as the council’s representative on the School Committee. She was elected in 2017.
Ward 4: Councilor Michel Lajoie, a former longtime fire chief in Lewiston, is running unopposed for re-election. He was elected in 2017.
Benjamin Martin, a Planning Board member and former School Committee member, took out nomination papers July 16 but does not appear on the final candidate list.
Ward 5: The seat was left vacant when Cloutier was sworn in as mayor following Bouchard’s resignation.
School Committee member Luke Jensen will run unopposed for the seat. Finance Committee member Denis Theriault took out nomination papers to run for the seat but does not appear on the final list.
Ward 6: This ward will also see a new face, as Councilor Joline Landry Beam is not running for re-election.
The ballot will instead feature candidates David Chittim and Kerryl Lee Clement. Chittim is the director of the Androscoggin Historical Society.
Ward 7: Councilor Michael Marcotte is running for re-election, but will face two challengers: Stephanie Gelinas and Kaitlyn Rourke.
Gelinas is the founder and executive director of Sandcastle Clinical and Educational Services and LA Hearing Center in Lewiston. According to her Facebook page, Rourke is a student ambassador and resident assistant at Thomas College in Waterville.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
In Lewiston, the School Committee has five uncontested races.
Ward 1: Held by Renee Courtemanche, the seat will be a contest between former Planning Board Chairman Bruce Damon and Joshua Nagine. Nagine has been involved in a number of city park initiatives.
Ward 2: Monique Roy will run unopposed for re-election.
Ward 3: Kiernan Majerus-Collins is the only candidate. Majerus-Collins, the chairman of the Lewiston Democratic Party, announced his candidacy in April.
The 23-year-old recent Bates College graduate is a consultant for nonprofits and serves on the city’s Voter Registration Appeals Board.
The Ward 3 seat is held by Francis Gagnon.
Ward 4: Tanya Whitlow will run unopposed for re-election.
Ward 5: The race will be between Lynnea Hawkins and Curtis Roundy.
According to her Facebook page, Hawkins works at Global Home Healthcare Agency. She has been a frequent letter writer to the Sun Journal and has been vocal on many issues during public meetings. Roundy and his wife, Anita, were featured in a 2012 Sun Journal article about the family’s brief bout with homelessness and subsequent rehabilitation of a condemned downtown property.
The seat is held by Luke Jensen, who is running for City Council.
Ward 6: Ronald Potvin, a Lewiston mayoral candidate in 2017, is the only candidate. The seat is held by School Commitee Chairman Mark Cayer, who is running for mayor.
Potvin, a corrections officer for the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, is a former city councilor and School Committee member in Auburn.
Ward 7: Ryan Donovan, a 2015 graduate of Lewiston High School, is running unopposed.
In a previous announcement, Donovan said he joined the Lewiston Education Fund in 2017, on which he has served as treasurer for most of the past two years.
The seat is held by Tom Shannon.
At-large: Megan Parks, seeking her third consecutive term on the School Committee, will face a challenge from Owen Cardwell-Copenhefer.
Parks, 41, is a social worker and substance-use counselor for Sweetser and Groups-Recover Together in Lewiston.
Cardwell-Copenhefer is the treasurer of the Lewiston Democratic Party and was finance director for Zak Ringelstein’s Senate bid last year.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.