In the Aug. 28 Sun Journal article about the Charter Commission’s work, Auburn City Councilor Tizz Crowley disagreed with Mayor Robert Macdonald’s suggestion that the hyphenated name “Lewiston-Auburn” be used if the two cities are combined, arguing that the hyphen would represent division.

For the record, a hyphen is not a form of punctuation that is meant to divide. In fact, it is used to keep broken words together, and it is also used to link two words with independent meanings in order to capture those meanings to express a new concept. This latter use seems particularly appropriate with regard to the mayor’s suggestion.

Both Lewiston and Auburn have reason to be proud of their roots and their historical significance. If the two cities are combined, the unification should make clear to everyone throughout the state that the intent is not to obliterate the existence or meaning of either city, but to capitalize on the strengths of both and to reaffirm who we are.

The area is already widely referred to as Lewiston-Auburn. To adopt a new name would send the message that we are ashamed of our identity and need to take on an assumed name to move forward into the future.

If a decision is made to unify the two cities, hyphenating the names of Lewiston and Auburn will link together the names of two strong communities to create a word symbol that reflects and proclaims our faith in the area and our pride in its history and its strengths.

Suzanne Roy, Lewiston