Somali immigrant elected to Lewiston school board

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A man originally from Somalia has become the first African immigrant to win elected office in Lewiston, a city that has long had a significant Somali population.

Write-in candidate Jama Mohamed picked up 10 additional votes at a Thursday recount to win a seat on the school committee.

The 29-year-old Mohamed will be sworn into office in January.

Mohamed tells the Sun Journal (http://bit.ly/18thBWr ) that serving on the committee is “a lot of responsibility.”

Mohamed came to the United States in 2004 and to Lewiston in 2008. The father of six works as a case manager and interpreter at Trinity Jubilee Center and is co-founder of a student mentoring organization.

A Somali-American woman previously served on the city’s school committee, but she was appointed, not elected.

Information from: Sun-Journal, http://www.sunjournal.com