I offer thanks to Eric Agren for speaking out about the state of downtown Lewiston (Dec. 19).

As a small business owner on Lisbon Street for the past 12 years, I have witnessed slow, steady progress toward revitalization.

When the mayor-elect speaks in negative terms about our places of business, he makes it harder for all of us to do business around the state.

Unfortunately, we have a governor with the same problem, not realizing that every word he utters will have an impact on how we are viewed by our potential customers or others wishing to invest in our state or community.

As for our “Third World” appearance, I only see newcomers revitalizing an entire block that was virtually vacant several years ago. New residents, new energy, new life, as so many before them have done.

That is what makes the United States so great.

Perhaps the mayor-elect should visit some really diverse places, such as New York or Boston, to feel the energy that diversity brings. My two children, born in Lewiston and raised in Auburn, live and work in those cities. To them, it’s a life they wouldn’t trade.

It’s the energy of the new and the young, and Lewiston (and Maine) can use all it can get.