Town abuzz over mayor’s racy MySpace page

updated 4:39 p.m. ET Jan. 7, 2008

ARLINGTON, Ore. - Some residents of this small town wish their mayor felt like she had something to hide.

Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist created a stir with her MySpace page, where at one time anyone could see photos of her on one of the town's fire engines, clad only in a black bra and panties.

Now only her friends have access to the page, but some people in this eastern Oregon community of about 500 are still upset.

Resident Lorena Woods said the photos reflect poorly on Arlington, especially since she was photographed on the fire truck. "This isn't the way we want our city to be portrayed," she said.

Kontur-Gronquist, who is also the fire department's executive secretary, said the photos were taken before she was elected mayor three years ago, and she saw no reason to remove them from the Internet after taking office.

She told the (Pendleton) East Oregonian that she did nothing wrong and those who are offended need to get over it.

"That's my personal life," she said. "It has nothing to do with my mayor's position."

She added, "There's a lot of officials that have a personal life, and you have people in this community who have nothing better to do than scrape up stuff like this."

Councilman Jeff Bufton said he's heard a lot of negative comments about the pictures, but declined to say whether the council plans to address the topic.

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