By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

AUBURN – The Twin Cities could save money by being on the same yearly election schedule, according a cost-cutting commission.

Members of the Lewiston-Auburn Commission on Joint Services is asking Auburn’s Charter Commission to consider making Auburn’s municipal elections match Lewiston’s.

“We don’t have a position on what year it should be,” said Robert Clifford, co-chair of the commission. “But it makes sense to have a common date where common issues can be discussed by candidates on both sides of the river.”

It’s the first policy change suggested by the commission, which began meeting in October. It’s looking for ways the two cities can save money by working together more closely.

The idea was well received by Auburn’s Charter Commission. Chair John Cleveland said city school officials have made the same request.

“They’re trying to draft policy with the committee from Lewiston, and that’s tough when you have one group of officials always up for election, ” Cleveland said.

The Twin Cities alternate municipal elections each year – Auburn’s is scheduled during even-numbered years and Lewiston’s during odd-numbered years.

“They used to be on the same cycle,” Cleveland said. Auburn changed in the late 1970s to have the municipal election match the big state and federal elections, which come in even-numbered years.

“The idea is that more people come out to vote for those big elections,” Cleveland said. But bigger voter turnouts don’t necessarily mean more people are paying attention to local issues, he said.

One example happened in the race for the Ward 3 City Council last November. Roughly 2,581 Ward 3 voters cast ballots on that day in the presidential election. But only 2,091 voted in the City Council race.

“That means almost 500 people just didn’t vote for that city race,” Cleveland said. “More people may show up, but it doesn’t mean more people vote in all the races. Local elections can get drowned out by all the attention paid to bigger races.”

City Councilor Donna Lyons Rowell said it might make it easier for the two city councils to work together.

“It seems that if we are all elected at the same time, we might be more comfortable with each other,” she said. “I’m just getting comfortable with some of these people, and now it’s their turn to be up for election.”

But Clifford said his commission isn’t suggesting Auburn just change its election schedule.

“In the end, this is a decision that has to be made by both cites,” he said. “Auburn’s Charter Commission is just starting their work, so it’s a good idea to bring it up with them first.”