Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, the mayor of Arlington, Ore., has been removed from office following a 142-139 recall vote after a risqué pic on her personal (and non-public) MySpace page peeved some townsfolk. A fire truck and black lingerie were involved. The image is about as racy as your average Sears catalog ad. But imagine those poor city councilors trying to focus on the hottest issues—I mean, the hot-button issues—in the Pacific Northwest these days. Such as the bare problem—I mean, bear problem. “That’s my personal life. It has nothing to do with my mayor’s position,” says Kontur-Gronquist. In Boston, we have an always fully clothed mayor, Tom Menino, who to the best of my knowledge has never posed in racy underwear on a fire truck. (And let’s keep it that way—OK, Mr. Mayor?)

—Posted by David Gianatasio