LEWISTON – Helen Poulin wants to live in Lewiston after all.

The controversial commissioner, who has spent weeks arguing that she can represent Lewiston on the Androscoggin County board while living in Auburn, has put her Auburn house up for sale.

Her goal, according to a sworn affidavit sent Monday to Gov. John Baldacci’s office, is to buy another house in Lewiston.

That’s where her residence remains, argued her attorney, Bryan Dench, in a letter that accompanied the affidavit.

It’s uncertain what effect any of this will have on Poulin’s bid to keep her seat.

Since early August, Poulin has been at the center of a growing controversy.

She was elected in 2006 to represent Lewiston on the three-member County Commission. She was then living at 170 Ferry Road.

In early August, Poulin and her husband, county Treasurer Robert Poulin, sold that home and moved to 100 Vickery Road in Auburn.

That would seem to violate state law, particularly the provision of Title 30-A that reads, “commissioners must be residents of the commissioner district which they represent.”

For weeks, Poulin argued that it was OK, since she never left the county.

“If it wasn’t OK to do, I wouldn’t be here,” she announced at a commission meeting on Sept. 3.

Meanwhile, state officials have been examining the move. The offices of the Attorney General and the Secretary of State both examined the case.

On Sept. 8, Baldacci’s office joined the discussion, requesting that Poulin verify her address. Poulin hired Dench, who refused.

Three days later, the governor’s office asked again.

In a second response, which arrived at the governor’s office on Monday afternoon, Poulin said she had moved to Auburn but it was merely temporary.

The affidavit contends that she and her husband had been preparing to buy another home in Lewiston, located on Pond Road, when the sale fell apart. Since they had already sold the place on Ferry Road, they needed to find somewhere to get them by.

So, they moved to 100 Vickery Road in Auburn. Now, it, too, is up for sale.

“The Vickery Road property is on the market, listed with the Fontaine team,” reads the affidavit. “They told me that they are anticipating a listing in Lewiston that they believe we will be interested in.”

When reached by phone Monday afternoon, Poulin refused to comment.

A spokesman for Baldacci said his office plans to examine the affidavit and the letter before deciding whether to pursue the matter further.

Meanwhile, the local head of Poulin’s political party said he is angry that it ever came to this.

“She has wasted a colossal amount of time,” said Will Fessenden, chairman of the Androscoggin County Democratic Committee.”

“I’m concerned that she’s changed arguments,” he said. “Now, all of a sudden, she says she still resides in Lewiston.”

Whatever happens, he plans to put the Poulin matter aside while he works toward getting his party’s candidates elected Nov. 4.

“It’s on the back burner until after the election,” Fessenden said.