A little news from around Boston:

There's a controversy about John Liming, one of the selectmen of the town of Marblehead, who won his seat by a single vote on the strength of a resumé which was, shall we say, irrationally exuberant about his educational credentials. However, the town's bylaws have no recall provisions, so it's up to him to resign, if he's going to. So far, there's been a petition drive, all of his fellow selectmen have begged him to leave, and a local lawyer has sued him under an obscure law about making false statements in the course of a political campaign. But Liming won't go. The lurkers, it seems, support him in email. Or something like that:

Liming said he has a ''heartfelt desire" to continue as a selectman, a job that pays $1,000 a year. Liming has since repeated his intention to remain on the board, saying supporters have encouraged him to stay on.

The final comment on this affair? I give you the words of Charles Singer, who ran the petition drive until it became clear that Liming was unmoved:

If we get to a point where we're so cynical about our elected officials, democracy doesn't work, and that's extremely dangerous.

It's hard to disagree.