Chip Morrison may well be able to do what no man has done before.

He may succeed in getting the controversial question of a Lewiston and Auburn — or Auburn and Lewiston — consolidation before voters.

Morrison, president of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, has taken out matching petitions in the Twin Cities that could trigger a November vote on creating a special “consolidation” charter commission. That commission would be specifically charged with bringing forward a recommendation for citywide votes.

He’ll need to gather 1,000 signatures for the referenda to appear, but for a guy as connected and energetic as Morrison, that’s pro forma work.

Consolidation is not a new idea. It has been studied and studied over the past 17 years, resulting in numerous thoughtful reports and serious recommendations developed by active, intelligent community members.

A Joint Services Commission report, drafted in 2006, noted that had the cities adopted a 2001 report for consolidation of services, they would each have already been saving 7 percent on their operating budgets. More recently, a 2009 study identified $2 million in savings over five years by consolidating administrative positions, police, public works equipment purchases and economic development efforts.

Oddly enough, the suggestion of a 7 percent annual savings more than a decade ago and another $2 million savings some years later was never embraced. Which is — as it was then — very, very hard to believe.

It’s unknown how much could have been saved if any of these reports had been adopted, since neither city — at either the council or administrative levels — ever embraced the concept.

There are different councils and different administrators in each city since the most recent report was issued (and then ignored), but given the historic and inherent self-preservation instinct in any bureaucracy, we question whether either council will really consider consolidation with any serious thought.

So, we support Morrison’s effort to take the question directly to the people.

“The only way I know for sure to find out how voters feel is to ask them,” he said, and “I think the people of Lewiston and Auburn want to be asked. They should be involved because this is a big decision.”

Based on reaction that has bubbled up in each city since Morrison’s petition drive was reported, he’s right. People do want to be asked. They want to have input, and the street-level conversation about the pros and cons of consolidation has already begun.

The cities already have their respective big toes dipped in the stream of collaboration and cooperation, including a shared water district, some shared purchases and some alignment of technology across the Androscoggin, but neither side has wanted to dive right in.

So, let’s do what hasn’t been done before: Immerse the voters in this conversation and let them decide.

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It’s been a tough week for GOP lawmakers Rep. Jarrod Crockett of Bethel and Sen. Roger Katz of Augusta.

Sometimes, that happens when you take a principled stand to do the right thing.

These two lawmakers joined GOP Sens. Thomas Saviello and Patrick Flood in bucking their party and voting in their constituents’ best interest to accept the federal government’s offer to expand MaineCare under the Affordable Care Act, and were heavily criticized within their party for having done so.

Crockett, in particular, was lobbied by other lawmakers and those among the party faithful to change his vote. Only one constituent called to complain, and that is powerful evidence that ordinary people without health care are in crying need of it and support expanded benefits.

Still, even though these men stood tall in support of their constituent needs, the House and Senate will not be able to garner the votes to override a gubernatorial veto.

While we support this expansion, Gov. Paul LePage has made it very clear he does not and will not sign any measure to allow it. And, it seems, there is not enough political will in Augusta to buck that veto.

What Crockett, Katz, Saviello and Flood showed us in their votes this week is that they care more about what is going on outside the State House than inside its chambers. And that, folks, is true representation of the people.

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Congrats to letter carrier Dan Holmgren for driving a million work miles for the U.S. Postal Service, over a period of 40 years, without an accident. He’s part of an exclusive 9,350-member club of carriers across the nation who share that feat.

Now, if only the rest of us could do the same. Just think how much safer our roads would be.

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