Here is the news from the Lewiston Sun-Journal via Hiiraan online:
LEWISTON — A School Committee write-in candidate picked up 10 votes in a ballot recount Thursday, making him the city’s first African immigrant to be elected to public office.
Jama Mohamed will represent Ward 5, which comprises the downtown.
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Serving on the School Committee “is a lot of responsibility,” he said. Being the first African immigrant is like a door opening for him and others who come from different countries, he said. He hopes more will follow his lead.
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Mohamed, 29, is a native of Somalia. He came to the United States in 2004 and to Lewiston in 2008. He works as a case manager and interpreter at Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston. He is co-founder and communications director of the Somali Bantu Youth Association of Maine, an organization that mentors students.
A father of six, he told the Sun Journal last month he was running for office because “it is my duty to serve.”
Wow! most of 1,204 ELL students are Somali!
Lewiston has 5,239 students, 23 percent of whom are English language learners; most of the ELL students are children of Somali refugees. With so many Lewiston students being Somali, “we need representation from the Somali community on the School Committee,” Lysen said.
For background on how so many Somalis “found their way” to Lewiston, read our 2009 post about Maine the welfare magnet. Our complete archive on Lewiston is here.