The Lewiston School Committee on Monday conducted a closed door executive session listed on the agenda as “to enter into an executive session to discuss a complaint regarding a public official, Title 1 M.R.S. 405(6)(A).”
After returning to public session, member Janet Beaudoin moved to open an investigation into the residency of fellow committee member. During the discussion and right after Beaudoin’s motion, committee member Elizabeth Eames stated she was Iman Osman’s campaign manager for his run for city councilor, effectively indicating the motion was concerning Osman.
With Eames declaring her role in his campaign, some are questioning why she did not recuse herself from the vote.
Osman has been under scrutiny for the fact that he listed his address as 210 Blake Street, which was condemned by the city in October 2024 and was the site of a federal drug-related arrest. The address has remained central to questions about his eligibility.
Beaudoin’s motion failed on a 5–4 vote. Osman, Eames, Megan Parks, Phoenix McLaren and Scott Harriman voted against opening an investigation, while Beaudoin, Craig Charpentier, Megan Hird and Donna Gallant supported it.
Osman has two meetings remaining on the school committee before he is expected to join the Lewiston City Council in January.
After Monday’s meeting Beaudoin took to Facebook and posted:
“Tonight’s decision not to allow an investigation into a residency concern is a blow to transparency and public trust. We owe it to our constituents to take every credible concern seriously. I’m extremely frustrated that a majority of this committee chose not to even look at the facts. Integrity matters. The public deserves clarity, not avoidance.”
Member Hird also posted on Facebook:
“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it,” she wrote, adding:
“This truth reflects exactly what we witnessed during tonight’s meeting about a members residency: the majority of our committee showed, once again, that they are more concerned with protecting their own interests than ensuring fair and honest representation of our community. Standing up for what is right shouldn’t depend on conformity—it should depend on principle.”
The property at 210 Blake Street was condemned following the 2024 drug raid, and the city does not allow anyone to live in a condemned building.
This fact has complicated the city’s position that Osman meets statutory residency requirements, as he has said he intends to return to the address even though he does not own it and has not lived there since the raid.
City officials and Osman’s attorney have pointed to state law defining residence based on voter registration and stated intent rather than physical habitation.
At a recent city council meeting, Mayor Carl Sheline said the city was not aware of any violation of statutory requirements and noted that the council does not have the authority to rule on a member’s qualifications before that person is sworn in.
