LEWISTON – Councilor Denis Theriault hit back at critics – and the Sun Journal – Tuesday for missing the point of a controversy last week over his attendance at a city department head meeting uninvited.

“They never asked why a councilor can’t be in those meetings,” Theriault said. “Does the newspaper check the charter? Does the newspaper jump up and say the people have the right to know? No.”

Theriault said that as an elected official, he represents the residents of Lewiston. If he’s not allowed in department head meetings, neither is the public.

“And there goes transparent government,” Theriault said.

Councilors met in executive session one week ago to discuss their roles and responsibilities as elected officials. The meeting came in the wake of Theriault’s attending a staff meeting a week before, uninvited and without warning.

City Administrator Jim Bennett approached Theriault after the meeting and said it was inappropriate and intimidating for Theriault to be there. Theriault has said publicly that he supports buying out the remaining two years of Bennett’s $110,000 employment contract.

The city attorney released his opinion of councilors’ roles on Friday, three days after the executive session. That opinion, based on his reading of the City Charter, said that councilors need to defer to city administration when it comes to managing and supervising city staff. The mayor and individual councilors do not have a legal right to attend administrative department head meetings without approval from the full council, the lawyer said.

“There is something wrong when the power of a government official supersedes that of an elected official, or a council as a body,” Theriault said Tuesday. “You have to ask yourself, what is happening in those meetings that a director of this corporation, a city councilor representing ‘we the people’ should not hear?”

Theriault said Tuesday that some parts of the City Charter should be changed. He noted that councilors – but not city staffers – can be voted out of office.

“The general public cannot change the city administrator,” Theriault said. “I believe the charter should allow the public that capacity. I believe a charter commission should be formed to study and to better reflect the will of the people, as to having more review authority regarding their administration.”

Theriault also complained about Sun Journal editorials that criticized him.

“That is why, from this day forward, my comment to the Sun Journal is, ‘No comment,'” Theriault said.