LEWISTON — Mayoral candidate Mark Paradis died today, just two days after vowing to stay in the race despite being diagnosed with cancer.
He died due to complications from pneumonia, according to the Sun Journal.
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Paradis, 59, hosted a press conference Wednesday to announce the cancer diagnosis, but said he would finish the election. “This election is about philosophy, about how to move Lewiston forward,” Paradis said. “I want to create a legacy that will outlive all of us.”
He was one of two men in a runoff election scheduled for Dec. 13. According to the Sun Journal, Paradis and opponent Robert Macdonald were the top two vote-getters in a five-man field in November’s election, but neither collected enough votes to win the mayor’s seat.
Paradis, a former city councilor, got 32 percent and Macdonald got 31. City rules require a mayor to get at least 50 percent, plus one vote.
Paradis received the diagnosis shortly after the November election. He died at Central Maine Medical Center with his family by his side, according to a press release issued by his campaign spokesman.
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