Meet the officials —elected and appointed— who make our city and county run.
These are the officials responsible for administering our elections:
City Clerk
Election administration:
The City Clerk is also the administrator of all elections within Lewiston, from municipal to general. Always in accordance with Maine Law, the Clerk sets the ground rules for voter registration, and absentee ballots. They also appoint the wardens and ward clerks for every voting precinct, with approval from the City Council. Our current City Clerk is Kathy Montejo.
Administers hunting, fishing, dog, and business licenses.
Responsible for birth, marriage, and death certificates.
Responsible for all official city records, including council meeting records
(Source: lewistonmaine.gov)
Secretary of State
Oversees Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions
The Secretary of State is the statewide administrator of elections. This means they oversee petition filing and ballot initiatives, as well as hold oversight over election and campaign law. Our current Secretary of State is Shenna Bellows. She was sworn in on January 4th, 2021.
Oversees Maine State Archives
Maintains records of Supreme Court Rulings, election results, statistics, and all legislative records.
Oversees Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Responsible for all vehicle-related licensing in the state.
(Source: maine.gov)
These are our local elected officials:
Mayor Carl L. Sheline. Image from lewistonmaine.gov
Mayor
The Mayor of a city holds the executive power, partner to the Council’s legislative power. They serve 2 year terms, and cannot serve more than 3 consecutive terms in Lewiston. The mayor can serve as a municipal officer and vote when there is a tie to break, a vacant council seat, or if a council member has to recuse themselves on a particular issue. The mayor also appoints (and can dismiss) department heads for the city. One of these important appointed positions is Chief of Police. One of the mayor’s chief responsibilities is to present a budget to the council. Currently, our mayor is Mark Cayer (D). (Source: CEEP “Why Local Elections Matter” and Lewiston City Government website ).
To visit Mayor Sheline’s official website, click here.
To read Mayor Sheline’s Inaugural Address, click here.
Councilors Harriman (left) and Nagine (right). Images from lewistonmaine.gov
City Council
The City Council acts as the legislative branch of our local government. The Council is responsible for amending and approving the city budget which is set forth by the mayor. We have 7 city council members in Lewiston, spread across 7 wards. Bates is split across wards 1 and 3. Currently, our council-members are Joshua L. Nagine (Ward 1) and Scott A. Harriman(Ward 3). (Source: CEEP “Why Local Elections Matter” and Lewiston City Government website ).
To learn more about Councilor Nagine, click here.
To learn more about Councilor Harriman, click here.
If you are unsure which ward you live in, please visit this map.
City Council with Mayor Cayer. Image from lewistonmaine.gov.
How they work together
The mayor and City Council work together to decide the budget for a city. This means they decide how much to invest in various areas like public libraries, parks and recreation, transportation issues, housing, and more. They also work together to make decisions about land use, which can have environmental impacts that voters may want to be aware of. Finally, the Council and mayor work together to decide how much the city wants to work with the Federal government on certain issues, like immigration. This is why some cities are designated as “sanctuary cities,” meaning they offer protection to immigrants from ICE. (Source: CEEP “Why Local Elections Matter” and Lewiston City Government website ).
To visit Mayor and City Council website, click here.
School Committee.
The school committee has two extremely important jobs: set the curriculum for local schools, and set the budget. They also hire and fire principals, in addition to setting the academic calendar and school hours for a school district. Their budget responsibilities include distributing funds to after school sports programs, arts and music, and more. Because they make choices about the curriculum, school committee members may be incredibly important elected positions to voters. The Committee is made up of 9 members, including: 7 elected voting residents (1 from each ward), a City Council member appointed by the mayor, and an at-large member from any ward. Click the button to the left for a list of our School Committee Members and to learn more about how they work. (Source: CEEP Why Local Elections Matter Guide.)
District Attorney
In Lewiston, District Attorney is an elected position. The DA is able to make changes to a city’s criminal legal system, including changes to bail systems. DA’s are responsible for investigating and sending cases to trial, making sentencing recommendations, and can even decide which cases to prioritize over others. This has implications when it comes to racialized crimes such as low-level drug offenses. DAs also handle felony charges, so have influence over police misconduct and police brutality cases. The current DA for Androscoggin County is Andrew Robinson (D). His office is located on Lisbon Street, in downtown Lewiston. (Source: CEEP Why Local Elections Matter Guide).
DA Neil McLean Jr, image courtesy of the Lewiston Sun Journal
County Commissioner
The County Commissioner has a similar role to mayor, but instead of working in just one city, they work in a whole county. They are concerned with raising revenue to maintain the function of local government. They have their own budget, and make decisions about county-wide transportation issues and infrastructure, such as airports, roads and bridges. They also oversee property taxes, correctional facilities, courts, and, importantly, public health oversight. This last responsibility is especially relevant during the Covid-19 crisis. Commissioners work in a particular district. Bates is split across two districts (1 and 2) for Androscoggin County. Our current commissioners are Noel Madore (D) and Roland Poirier (D). (Source: CEEP Why Local Elections Matter Guide and Androscoggin County Website.)
Map of Commissioner Districts. Image courtesy of maine.gov
These elected positions hold an immense amount of influence over the values that determine how Lewiston prioritizes certain issues over others and protects its residents. There are other elected positions, such as state representatives and state senators. For more information on these offices and who currently holds them, please see our local government resources page.