Lewiston, Maine, once stood as a monument to American resilience, a booming mill city powered by the Androscoggin River, strengthened by generations of hardworking immigrant families, and anchored by institutions like Bates College and the Saints Peter and Paul Basilica.
Its French-Canadian heritage, its historic architecture, and its tightly woven working-class identity defined Maine’s second largest city for more than a century. Today, many residents look around and barely recognize the city they once knew. Crime and rampant drug abuse abound in Lewiston which, tragically, became the site of Maine’s first mass shooting just over two years ago.
A City Built on Industry and Community
Founded in 1760 and rapidly industrialized by the mid-19th century, Lewiston grew into one of New England’s major textile hubs. Irish and Franco-American immigrants built neighborhoods, churches, and businesses that defined its culture for generations. Even after the mills closed in the 1970s, Lewiston fought to preserve its heritage and community spirit.
Over the last two decades, the city underwent another dramatic demographic shift with the arrival of one of the nation’s largest Somali refugee populations. This transformation reshaped Lewiston’s political structure, its schools, its social services, and its daily cultural landscape. Now with President Trump making clear his intent to remove Somali nationals who are unlawfully present in the United States, Lewiston has become an unexpected focal point in the national immigration debate.
A Community Still Hurting After Tragedy
Two years after the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history, Lewiston is still reeling. Eighteen men and women were murdered by 40-year-old Army reservist Robert Card, who indiscriminately opened fire in a bar and a bowling alley there.
Families of victims continue to ask what happened to portion of the millions of dollars of relief funds that were raised from private citizens and then funneled through Somali-led nonprofits seemingly unrelated the shootings.
Despite the magnitude of the tragedy, no full accounting has ever been released. Governor Janet Mills has offered no investigation or explanation, even as allegations surface about fraudulent MaineCare billing involving some of the same nonprofits.
Leadership Vacuum at City Hall
Residents say their concerns have been made worse by the absence of meaningful leadership at City Hall. Mayor Carl Sheline has repeatedly aligned himself with Somali-run nonprofits over the expressed will of the city council, leaving many longtime residents feeling ignored and alienated.
Mayor Sheline’s approach, widely viewed as knee-jerk, politically naive, immature and disconnected from the real concerns of the community, has further eroded trust.
There are a few bright spots.
Newly appointed Police Chief Carly Conley, the first woman to lead the department, has earned respect for her professionalism and focus on stability over may years on the force.
City Administrator Bryan Kaenrath is also widely seen as a competent, steady hand in an increasingly unstable political environment.
But even strong administrators cannot alone compensate for a political culture that refuses to confront the city’s worsening problems.
A City in Visible Decline
A walk through downtown Lewiston makes clear how dramatically the community has changed. On thoroughfares such as Blake Street and Bartlett Street, gangs are visibly present, and teenage children have been seen carrying firearms. Open drug use occurs in daylight. Homelessness has surged.
Longtime residents and members of the Somali community increasingly avoid one another, exchanging cold stares, and engaging either in tense interactions, or no interaction at all.
The clearest symbol of the city’s decline is Kennedy Park, once a proud civic gathering space and now a site of persistent disorder. Families avoid the area. Police calls are routine. Nothing about the park reflects the thriving community it once served.
Shootings involving youths have become so routine that many are never reported in local news. Food pantry truck lines stretch down the block within steps of City Hall. The city feels less safe, less stable, and less hopeful than it has in generations.
The Iman Osman Scandal: A Breaking Point
If one event encapsulates the failure of local leadership, it is the rise and collapse of Iman Osman, a newly elected city councilor whose credibility collapsed under intense scrutiny.
Osman’s campaign for city council was shadowed by questions about his residency, including conflicting statements about addresses and documents that cast doubt on whether he lived in the district he claims to represent. Residents raised election-integrity concerns repeatedly, but city leaders brushed them aside.
Those concerns proved well-founded. Osman was indicted on Wednesday in an investigation involving firearms and narcotics, a development that shocked a city already grappling with rising youth violence and gun-related crime.
Despite this, the school committee avoided taking any position on the seriousness of the his residency, and the city council claimed it had no authority to act until Osman is sworn into office. The response left many residents outraged and reinforced the perception that those in power are more concerned with optics and appeasement than with protecting the community.
The Osman scandal has deepened cultural divisions, exposed the fragility of Lewiston’s political institutions, and amplified calls for accountability.
Where Is Maine’s Secretary of State and Governor?
The silence has not been limited to local leaders.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, the state’s chief election official, has offered no statement and initiated no review regarding Osman’s residency, eligibility, or voter registration. Her refusal to engage is striking, especially given her history of intervening in high-profile election controversies.
Residents now question why Bellows, quick to weigh in on national political disputes, such as questions about President Trump’s ballot eligibility (on which she was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court), has remained silent on a direct challenge to election integrity in one of Maine’s largest cities. To many, her silence speaks volumes.
Governor Janet Mills has remained equally quiet. She has not addressed the nonprofit controversies, the unanswered questions about victim-relief funds, the rise in youth violence, or the growing cultural tension in Lewiston.
Residents increasingly feel abandoned not only by City Hall but by Augusta as well. How can the Governor not see the problems? Or does she?
A City Colliding With National Policy, and a Call for National Help
Lewiston’s struggles no longer exist in isolation. With one of the country’s largest Somali populations per capita and with President Trump committed to removing Somali nationals who are in the U.S. unlawfully, the city stands at the intersection of local instability and shifting national policy.
Local leaders refuse to confront the issues. State officials refuse to acknowledge them. Yet the consequences are becoming impossible to ignore.
Lewiston stands at a historic crossroads. A city built on grit, community cohesion, and American values is now overwhelmed by rising crime, political paralysis, nonprofit mismanagement, and deepening cultural divides. The Osman scandal has made clear that the city’s institutions are not prepared to address these challenges on their own.
The imminent plea seems to be this: President Trump, Lewiston is on the wrong path. Maine’s leaders will not act. The city needs federal help, oversight, enforcement, transparency, and accountability before one of New England’s most historic communities slips beyond the point of recovery.
The people of Lewiston are asking for help. And they deserve better.
