Lewiston voters will choose between one of two relative political newcomers as their next mayor on Nov. 2.

Either Carl Sheline or Donna Gillespie will succeed Mark Cayer, who announced earlier this year he would not be seeking reelection. Lewiston’s charter demands elections be nonpartisan, so the party affiliation of Sheline and Gillespie hasn't been provided.

Sheline, 42, grew up in Arizona but has lived in Lewiston for the past 10 years with his two children, ages 19 and 14. He is a co-manager at Lewiston-based Munka Coworking, a company that maintains a co-working space for remote workers.

Sheline said he is most concerned about building the city’s economy and improving its image. He said he wants to fill vacant storefronts and support the city’s economic development team.

“The only thing I want to do is beat the drum for Lewiston,” he said.

Sheline said the canal area, which Lewiston took ownership of in 2018, is something that the city can do more with. He said he would like to see it made into an area that residents consider walkable. 

“That would definitely increase developer interest,” he said.

Sheline also wants to see local school graduation rates improve, and supports new initiatives such as the expansion at Lewiston High School.

“Families move to cities because of the school system,” he said.

Gillespie, who would only say she is “over 21,” has lived in Lewiston for 30 years after growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She’s retired from the state Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked as a caseworker. 

Gillespie ran unsuccessfully in 2017 and 2019 for city council and has never held public office. She said she is running in part because she didn’t want to see the mayor’s race uncontested.

“I wanted people to have a choice,” she said.

Helping the city’s homeless and fighting drug addiction are her top priorities. She also wants a senior center to serve the 19% senior population in Lewiston.

She said there are three homeless shelters in Lewiston, but they are owned by religious groups and restricted. One is for men only, and another requires a referral from a case worker. Gillespie said she would like to see a shelter run by the city.

“A barrier-free homeless shelter is what the priority should be,” she said.

Gillespie also said she thinks the city needs to create a safe haven for those struggling with drug addiction.

“There’s no drug rehab in the city,” she said.

Gillespie suggested the city switch to a pay-as-you-throw garbage handling system, where residents can dispose of as many bags of trash as they wish, as long as they pay for special trash bags issued by the city. Other communities in the area have switched to similar systems, she said, and have wound up generating a net revenue. 

She said that’s one option to help pay for a shelter or rehab center.