LEWISTON — Mayor Robert Macdonald spoke out Friday against opponents of the proposed Lewiston-Auburn consolidation who are calling for boycotting local pro-merger businesses. It appears the controversy was sparked via social media, when a supporter of the Coalition to Oppose Lewiston-Auburn Consolidation posted on the group’s Facebook page Aug. 8. “If business(es) are funding One […]
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Lewiston-Auburn merger campaigns begin public debate
AUBURN — The first public forum between the competing campaigns on a proposed merger of Lewiston and Auburn was an hour-and-a-half-long push and pull between a bold vision to unite two cities and a plea to sustain their separate legacies. One argued that consolidating the cities will allow a singular economic vision in response to […]
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Merger vote hinges on city process
LEWISTON — While campaigns for and against the proposed merger of the Twin Cities are already competing for the public’s ear, officials in both cities agree that there’s work to do to make a November referendum a reality. With just over six months until the Nov. 7 target, a name for the proposed city has […]
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New voices join anti-Lewiston-Auburn merger campaign
AUBURN — The campaign against the proposed merger of the Twin Cities added new voices Wednesday, hoping to bolster its argument that a consolidation would ultimately cost taxpayers. Officially joining the anti-merger side and questioning the financial benefit of the move were Matt Leonard and Robert Reed, who spoke to a small group gathered at the […]
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Pro-merger campaign for Lewiston-Auburn kicks off Thursday
AUBURN — A campaign group in support of the Lewiston-Auburn merger will host a kickoff event on Thursday. One LA, the group supporting the November vote to make Lewiston and Auburn one city, will roll out its essential argument in favor of the merger during a 10 a.m. news conference Thursday, April 6, at the […]
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Charter Commission: What should we call a combined Lewiston-Auburn?
LEWISTON — Gene Geiger, chairman of the Lewiston-Auburn Joint Charter Commission, doesn’t have a favorite name for a combined Twin Cities, but he’s hoping everyone else in the community does. “I have a sense of where it might go, but I’ll be the last person to weigh in,” Geiger said. “In the end, it’s not […]
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Experts gather data for Lewiston-Auburn merger plan
AUBURN — A consultant hired to gather information on the Twin Cities ahead of creating a charter for combining Lewiston and Auburn told residents Wednesday night that he wasn’t there to convince them it was a good idea. The meeting was meant to get public comment and opinions about merging the cities, but it became […]
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Lewiston-Auburn charter consultants hosting meetings this week
LEWISTON — A draft charter that sketches out how a combined Twin Cities government would work answered some questions when it was released last month, but not all of them. “There are so many things that have to be dived into,” Charter Commission Chairman Gene Geiger said. “We have to look into city operations, schools, police […]
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Lewiston-Auburn charter group posts draft plan
LEWISTON — A city council of 10 plus a voting mayor would govern a combined Lewiston-Auburn, according to a draft charter released Tuesday. The combined city would have five wards with two councilors per ward serving staggered two-year terms, according Gene Geiger, chairman of the Lewiston-Auburn Charter Commission. “We imagined five wards, each twice the […]
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Lewiston-Auburn charter effort moves ahead
LEWISTON — Efforts to combine the Twin Cities are moving forward, despite lacking all the money needed for consulting and legal services. With a $50,000 state grant in the bank, the group working to help combine Lewiston and Auburn said Wednesday it planned to release its first draft of a new charter near the end […]