LEWISTON — Chrissy Noble, a youth worker at New Beginnings, was appointed Lewiston’s newest city councilor Tuesday night after four hours of debate and discussion.

It was an outcome that few had predicted. Support had been heavy for two candidates: former city councilor Eryn Soule-Leclair and former school committee member Kiernan Majerus-Collins.

Noble was appointed to represent Ward 5 by a 5-2 vote after dozens of people got up in council chambers to express support for either Soule-Leclair or Majerus-Collins.

Noble will replace Iman Osman, who resigned from the council earlier in the month just days after he was sworn in. Osman resigned Jan. 8, shortly after he was indicted on gun theft charges. By that point, questions about his residency were already being investigated and Mayor Carl Sheline had asked him to step down.

In the aftermath of Osman’s resignation, the City Council had expected to hold a special election to name Osman’s replacement. However, on Jan. 8 they were advised by the city attorney that, due to recent updates to the city charter, a new councilor would have to be appointed, instead.

The city began taking applications for the position immediately after the Jan. 8 meeting, a move that riled some voters. Many thought that since Soule-Leclair had campaigned for the position and lost to Osman by such a slim margin, she should be automatically installed to replace him.

“She was the only one of the candidates who actually tried to get elected,” former city councilor Bob McCarthy said at the Tuesday night meeting. “She knocked on doors, she campaigned, she met with people.”

But the decision was left to the council and by Tuesday night, they had applications from five people.

In addition to Soule-Leclair and Majerus-Collins, three people had applied for the position: Adam Buckley, Nicole Johnson and Noble .

During the occasionally raucous public comment portion of the meeting, Majerus-Collins received the bulk of support, much of it from the immigrant community.

“He’s been there for our community,” one woman said. “He’s walked with us.”

Majerus-Collins, an attorney, represented Osman when questions arose about his residency in Lewiston.

But support for Soule-Leclair had been heavy since Osman resigned, and that support came not only from the people who live in Ward 5, but from those who work in public safety.

Over the weekend, the Lewiston firefighters union endorsed Soule-Leclair in a social media post that soon went viral.

“There is only one applicant that demonstrated the commitment to serve on the city council and made an effort to represent Ward 5 in the general election,” according to the endorsement from Local 785. “While we respect all of the other applicants and their wishes to serve, truth be told there is only one who appeared on the ballot and received hundreds of votes. It is time Lewiston makes news for the right reasons.”

A few days earlier, the local police union had also publicly endorsed Soule-Leclair, citing her “unwavering commitment” to the people of Lewiston and describing the appointment as “a defining moment for the integrity of our local government.”

When Noble was appointed, many in the room seemed stunned given the expectation that either Soule-Leclair or Majerus-Collins would likely get the position.

In a short speech at the start of the meeting, Noble said she has lived in Lewiston for more than 20 years and that she has worked at New Beginnings for 17.

Her great-great-grandfather was a Canadian immigrant, she said, and she feels like the newer immigrant population needs to be better protected. Many of the kids she works with as a youth councilor, Noble said, are immigrants.

Mostly she talked about her work. Noble has spent a good part of her career working with the homeless or with those with substance abuse issues. She specializes in crisis intervention and conflict resolution.

“I feel that my experience with conflict resolution does help me to see all the sides of a situation,” Noble said.

She made a point of saying that’s she’s not particularly political “or that I’m a master of policy.

“But I have a really big heart,” Noble said. “I’ve lived in this city a really long time and I have a good understanding of the people who live here, also.”

Roughly 100 people attended the Tuesday night meeting, a crowd so large that some had to sit in the hall and watch the proceedings on a TV screen.

From the start of things, city councilors seemed vividly aware of the unorthodox situation in which they found themselves.

Councilor Joshua Nagine described the night as “a really weird way to interview for a council position.”

Councilor David Chittim was even more verbose on the matter.

“We have been charged with being dysfunctional, being unorganized, not knowing what we’re doing,” he said at the start of the meeting. “This is going to demonstrate that in spades.”

“It’s obvious that no matter what this council does up here this evening,” Chittim said, “there are going to be some angry or upset or disappointed or sorrowful people and that cannot be helped.”

While most who spoke at the meeting supported one candidate or another, many stood at the podium to deride the council for the clumsy way with which it had handled the situation.

“We’re here because an ineligible candidate was allowed on the ballot in the first place,” said Lisa Jones, an ardent supporter of Soule-Leclair.

Another man, a Lewiston small business owner, declared that anything but a special election for the people of Ward 5 to decide the matter was “a disenfranchisement of the voter.”

“Thank you for confidence in my commitment to Lewiston,” Soule-Leclair wrote on Facebook, “and all who call her home.”

Before the appointment was made at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, Soule-Leclair had vowed to remain “an accessible, engaged councilor who listens and advocates for the people I serve.

“At the heart of this,” she said, “my goal is simple: to help make Lewiston a place where everyone feels they belong, feels they are safe and proud to call home.”

When it was over, Soule-Leclair thanked the police and fire unions and others who had supported her. She also derided the disordered way in which the matter was handled.

“I’m extremely disappointed at the outcome,” she said, “but I feel some relief. What I witnessed tonight was not a democracy and I’d rather not be a part of it. “

Noble was sworn into her position on Wednesday.

“I’m super excited to start my new role as city councilor,” she said. “I’m hopeful my experience will be helpful and give a different perspective.”

In spite of the unorthodox way Noble made her way onto the council, Sheline seemed pleased with the results.

“I really appreciate the brave members of our community who came out to speak last night, many of them for the first time,” he said on Wednesday. “I’m excited and look forward to working with Chrissy Noble on the issues that matter to Ward 5 and all of Lewiston.”