Safiya Khalid, 23, speaks with a resident in the Michaud Meadows subdivision in Lewiston in August. Khalid was going door-to-door, introducing herself to voters. She’s running for City Council.
Safiya Khalid had already worked a full eight hours at her day job before she started knocking on doors in Lewiston’s Michaud Meadows subdivision. The late summer light was fading fast, and the overcast sky threatened rain
Khalid was tired and had no umbrella — but she didn’t stop. She wants to be the first person from the city’s Somali community elected to public office. To that end, Khalid was out to meet every unenrolled and Democratic voter in the city’s first ward before Election Day. That’s roughly 800 people. She found 300 as of Aug. 28, with 500 more to go.
Pressing on, she rang another doorbell.
“Hi. I’m Safiya,” Khalid said to the older, white man answering the door. “I’m running for City Council, and I just wanted to introduce myself.”
The man, Norman Houle, was surprised to see her. Khalid is just over 5 feet tall. She’s young — 23-years-old — Somali-American and wears a traditional headscarf. Her wispy accent hints that she probably wasn’t born in Maine.
At first, Houle just looked at her. The sound of the nightly television news wafted out of the house behind him. Khalid handed him a flier reading, “Safiya for council.”
She said again, “I’m running for City Council.” Her face was bright and open.
