(Story updated at 12:35pm Wednesday with more backgrounds quote from Fru Nkimbeng)
As was the case 2021, it appears the race for District 7 (the Acre) City Council will feature Paul Ratha Yem battling Dave Ouellette. Except this time around, Yem enters the race as the incumbent and Ouellette as Campaign Manager for a different candidate.
A search of Massachusetts Office Campaign, Finance and Political Finance (OCPF) records shows that Acre resident Fru Nkimbeng has created a candidate’s committee to run for City Council, with paperwork listing none other than Ouellette as his Campaign Manager.
Ouellette, a long-time neighborhood activist and multiple time political candidate, lost to Yem in the first ever Acre District Council race two years ago by a roughly 56%-44% margin in a result that surprised many observers.
Nkimbeng is well known throughout the city, having considered his own run in 2021 before opting not to seek office. He immigrated to Lowell from Cameroon in 1985 and has served on numerous boards, as well as the Police Race Relations Council.
“To whom more is given, more is expected,” Nkimbeng said when asked why he is mounting a run for City Council. “Lowell has given me so much, it is time to give back”
Nkimbeng is currently employed as a Senior Desktop Support Analyst for a company out of Nashua, NH, and has a quarter century of experience in IT and Systems support.
