Some three years ago, a small group of Lewiston-Auburn residents, mostly from the Chamber of Commerce, decided they wanted to merge the two cities. So, they formed the Joint Charter Commission to present a proposed charter to be voted upon by local citizens.
These “merger” initiatives have never been supported by the public. Most residents of Lewiston and Auburn are happy with their respective cities and do not feel the need to live in a more expensive, bigger-government municipality.
From the outset, commission members have been throwing out ideas as to what a merged city should be named.
There has been negligible interest from the public in favor of coming up with a new name. Way back on July 11, 2016, the Sun Journal reported a story in which Gene Geiger invited members of the public to vote for their favorite name ideas. They apparently received very little response because now, in an article dated April 19, Mr. Geiger is yet again asking the public to vote for their favorite name ideas.
There is simply no public enthusiasm for merging the two cities, no matter how many times Mr. Geiger arrogantly tells us we are “living in the past,” and that we are the “glass half-empty” crowd.
It is Mr. Geiger who is out of touch with reality, as he will learn in November when the proud residents of Lewiston and Auburn shoot down this crazy merger idea.
Chris Dufresne, Lewiston
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