By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Two national journalists spent part of Wednesday trying to figure out the secret to the Twin Cities’ recent economic success.

The pair, Washington Post columnist Neal Peirce and smart growth advocate Curt Johnson, are planning a writing project about the economic challenges in New England.

Their work should culminate in a series of articles they’ll sell to newspapers around the country and put on the Web next fall.

Peirce said the pair began their work in Littleton, N.H., last month. He got a column out of that visit, he said, writing about the community’s struggle to build an economy after the recession of the 1990s.

“But I kind of wish I’d started here,” Peirce said. “If I had, I’d have probably written the column about this place.”

Peirce said they heard about Lewiston while talking to a developer in Durham, N.H. That’s why they wanted to include it in their series.

Wednesday, the pair had lunch with a group of Lewiston-Auburn leaders and toured the Twin Cities by bus, looking at the Bates Mill, Southern Gateway, Auburn’s intermodal freight facility, Bates College and area hospitals.

They ended the day at the Colisee, where they listened to local developers and city and economic development officials talk about the area’s economic successes and failures.

Turning point?

Johnson said he generally sees two types of communities. The first type has been an economic powerhouse, but has hit hard times and can’t seem to get it right now.

“They have a deeply seated inferiority complex,” he said. “They are adept at explaining their failure, but not good at crawling out from under it.”

He puts Lewiston-Auburn in his second category: “The other type tells stories like I’m hearing in this room.” They talk about positive leadership, good growth, hard work and making difficult decisions, he said.

“The question is, is there a turning point?” he said. “Is there some catastrophe that occurs that people say, That’s it. If we don’t do something, we won’t be here,’ or is it more gradual?”

The assembled people couldn’t reach a consensus. Dick Gleason, chair of the Chamber of Commerce, gave credit to brave developers willing to invest. Developer Travis Soule, who is planning to redevelop the Cowen and Libbey mills, gave credit to city officials who support developers. And Lucien Gosselin, executive director the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council, gave credit to elected officials.

“They say, You get the project, I’ll get you the votes,'” Gosselin said.

Peirce and Johnson lead a contingent of journalists and writers they call the Citistates Group. Together, they tout the idea of building modern, well-planned, energy-efficient metropolitan communities with sustainable economic growth. More information is available at www.citistates.com.

Greg Mitchell, Lewiston’s assistant city administrator, said the pair’s attention on Lewiston-Auburn is priceless.

“It helps us tell the story of Lewiston-Auburn on a national scale,” he said. “It’s a great way to present our good news to the world, and maybe help keep it going.”