LEWISTON- City Councilors have voted to open an investigation into the residency of one of its newly sworn-in members.
The decision was made after an hour-long executive session regarding the issue.
Ward Five Councilor Iman Osman has faced questions regarding his residency, as he is temporarily displaced from the property that is his voting address.
Monday was the first meeting of the new term. Last month, the previous Council approved a resolution asking this new Council to proceed with such an investigation when they first met.
Osman, formerly a School Committee member, was elected to the City Council in last November’s elections. He defeated incumbent Eryn Soule-Leclair.
Iman Osman
Appointed to the School Committee late in 2024 by Mayor Carl Sheline, questions about Osman’s residency were not brought forward until close to the November 2025 elections.
In October of 2024, police arrested Muktar Abshir Aden, who was living with Osman (and others) at the Blake Street address, for methamphetamine trafficking. Osman and the others were not charged.
However, in early December 2025, Osman was indicted on two charges related to firearms: knowingly receiving stolen property and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. He denies the charges. No evidence against him has been made public in the matter, and no explanation has been given as to why the indictments happened over a year after his alleged violation of the law.
After the indictments were announced to the public, Sheline called for Osman to resign from both the School Committee and from his newly-won seat on the City Council. Sheline reiterated his call at Monday’s meeting, and he was joined by Ward Two Councilor Susan Longchamps.
Sheline did make it clear that the Council investigation would cover only the residency concerns, and would not tackle any questions related to Osman’s indictments.
Several Councilors indicated a hope that the investigation would put an end to the distractions, and that their decision to proceed with it was not a criticism of Osman.
In October of 2024, the building Osman resided in (an 1896 building at the corner of Blake and Birch Streets) was condemned by the city. That property is owned by Osman’s brother and city staff have confirmed that work on the building is ongoing and progressing.
Osman has said publicly that he intends to return to the building once the proper fixes are made and that he has no intention of resigning his seat. Citing ongoing harassment and the potential impact on himself and his family, Osman has declined to publicly share the location of his temporary residency.
Elected and re-elected City Councilors are sworn in by the City Clerk
The Lewiston City Charter requires elected officials to reside within the boundaries of their respective wards, allows the Council to determine the qualifications of its members, and gives the Council the ability to remove a member after they have been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude, but state law determines where a person’s legal voting address can be.
Maine law allows for an individual to be temporarily displaced from a residence without losing that residence as their voting address. The law does not, however, define how long “temporary” can be.
The city’s investigation, which will be done by a third-party investigator, will likely try to give Councilors legal guidance on the “temporary” component and if any legal precedents are applicable.
The issue of Osman’s residency was brought last year to the City Clerk, who, after speaking with the city’s legal counsel, determined that her office had no grounds to disqualify Osman from holding his School Committee seat and being sworn in as a new member of the City Council.
Some residents spoke in favor of an investigation, and some criticized the decision to spend limited city funds on it. Several voiced their support for Osman.
Shukri Abdirahman speaks to the Lewiston City Council
Shukri Abdirahman, an Androscoggin County Commissioner, raised concerns about the impact this was having on Osman and whether there would be any accountability if the investigation showed Osman has not violated any rules.
“How do we hold people accountable if this investigation comes back and it’s true that he lives at that address?” she asked. “How do we hold the city accountable, because the city destroyed this man’s life and his reputation?”
Osman came to the United States as a teenager, graduating from Lewiston High School in 2009. At the time, he stated a desire to become a social worker, and has long worked as one, helping residents in the downtown area.