Batesies: Take a Stand Against Bigotry in Lewiston Mayoral Runoffs

When I first came to Bates in 2023, I was impressed that a small city in this predominantly white state could have overcome such vitriolic xenophobia to have a thriving community of immigrants involved across the community. Of course I knew that racism and bigotry was still real here in Maine, just as anywhere else. But I also found great appreciation in the community efforts to bring Lewistonians together, whether they were originally French, Somali, Angolan, Thai or from anywhere else in the world. Much of this progress could be reversed if Rick LaChapelle is elected the next mayor of Lewiston. After the midterm election results were finalized, there was no clear winner of the Lewiston mayoral race. The top two candidates in this technically nonpartisan race were self-identified Republican Rick LaChapelle, with 6,164 votes or 45.7%, and current mayor and self-identified Democrat Carl Sheline, with 4,766 votes or 35.3%.

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