Augusta residents not well-served by our GOP legislators on superintendent residency change.

I believe Augusta’s legislative delegation (Sen. Roger Katz, Reps. Corey Wilson and Matt Pouliot) were wrong to co-sponsor the recently vetoed superintendent residency restriction removal bill, L.D. 6.

These three local Republican “leaders” were soundly rebuked, however, by their party’s governor in his comments vetoing their offensive, anti-local control bill.

Most Augusta residents (many Cony graduates like myself, class of 1988) don’t want some Gardiner resident (or Portland resident or Bangor resident) to be our Augusta school superintendent.

That’s why the residency requirement is in the Augusta City Charter in the first place.

If James Anastasio (probably a nice enough fellow) wants to keep his $100,000-plus interim superintendent paycheck, let him move the dozen or so miles north from Gardiner and actually live in Augusta. Frankly, I consider it insulting to us that he doesn’t live here already.

Put the superintendent residency requirement before Augusta voters this fall. I’ll wager the proposal would fail by a wide margin.

Our Augusta GOP legislators ought to be embarrassed and ashamed at their blatant state power grab attempt. But they’re not.

We Augusta voters should not forget their monkeyshines this November if we have a chance to vote against their City Charter superintendent residency change and also next November when Katz, Wilson and Pouliot ask us again for our vote.

Mike HeinAugusta