A city is just as good as its culture, according to City Councilor Lillian O’Brien.

She counts support for Lewiston schools, the libraries and the arts as the most important things she does for the City Council.

“It goes beyond the hard facts, like fixing the roads or making sure we have good police and fire protection,” she said. “We have other things we need to grow, and it’s the whole creative part of what human beings are all about.”

She’s seeking her second term as the City Council’s Ward 3 representative.

O’Brien said she’s proud of the council’s efforts to keep taxes down. The city kept property taxes level for two years before cutting them last year. It’s meant staff tightening and better efficiency.

She’d still like to see more spent for the public library, for recreation and on cultural benefits.

“I want to make sure we put good Lewiston money into those things,” she said.

She counts the City Council’s support for the Colisee as support for culture.

“We have a culture that values outside sports, and hockey is part of that,” she said. “You don’t teach kids about it by sitting at home and talking about it. You bring them out and show them, and you get them out on the ice.”

The Colisee has made a big turnaround, as has the rest of the city. That’s why she’s seeking a second term.

“We’re in the middle of a wonderful growth spurt right now, and I want to be part of that celebration,” she said. “I can only do that as one of the players.”

The next job is to get Mill No. 5 in the Bates Mill Enterprise Complex developed. Plans include a convention center. That would bring jobs to the city.

“And that’s the best kind of economic development we can do, the kind that brings in good jobs,” she said. “It’s exactly what we’ve found in the companies we’ve brought in, like Wal-Mart and Oxford Networks and Andover College. We’ve brought in more jobs and that means more people in Lewiston. Hopefully, it ends with people having a better life.”