I was dismayed to read that the Lewiston City Council had voted against Mayor Carl Sheline’s nomination of Leigh Albert to the Planning Board.

What I find even more unacceptable is that the three councilors who voted the nomination down, including my own councilor, saw no need for accountability to their constituents and provided no explanation for voting against an eminently qualified candidate.

Leigh Albert is a longtime resident of Lewiston who moved to the city to start her family. I have had the pleasure of working with her at one of Lewiston’s largest employers for nearly twice as long. She is smart, thoughtful, dedicated, and determined. She does not back down from a challenge, and works across differences with civility and a collaborative nature.

Leigh serves as the treasurer for the YWCA of Central Maine’s board of directors, is a member of the Barbara Bush Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit’s Family Advisory Council, and has been active with the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute’s Corporate Leaders Network. In 2021, she was recognized by the L/A Metro Chamber of Commerce at its Finest Under 40 awards.

Leigh’s commitment to Lewiston is both broad and deep. In short, she is exactly who the council should be recruiting to serve on one of our most important boards and committees.

I urge the council to work together with the mayor, as its members were elected to do, and to confirm her appointment as soon as possible.

Kristen Cloutier, Lewiston

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