Auburn certainly welcomes Peter Crichton as the city’s new manager. His administrative and management experiences should allow him to capably provide leadership to city staff. Auburn residents and businesses should now expect their councilors, and particularly the mayor, to assume their role as policy makers, leaving the manager to truly manage, without an unwarranted deluge of incoming emails.

Considering Crichton’s connections within the state, might he join with the other major service center managers to advance their mutual interests in Augusta? Considering the mayor’s position as the presiding officer of and the primary voice of the council, might the mayor stand with other mayors of Maine cities in a coalition to speak as one voice with respect to impacts of state-level fiscal decisions on local budgeting?

Bob Hayes, Auburn