Ever notice that, when it comes to politics, consequences for behavior seem to have less to do with what was done than with who did the doing?

After the hearings and Town Council vote that threw a roadblock in front of a large mixed-use development proposed by the Carpianato Group, the word “recall” was in the air, particularly for the two council members who ultimately voted to make changes to the town’s comprehensive plan in order to accommodate the development, Jay Lambert and David Perry.

Oddly, as I’ve reported on Tiverton Fact Check, the first recall petition pulled appears to be against Council Member Joseph Sousa.  Sousa’s well known for his tendency to speak his mind even when his mouth would serve him better by remaining shut, and the impetus for the recall appears to be a short, snarky response to an email from the petitioner’s teenage daughter.

That said, neither Lambert nor Perry have been free of bad behavior, and after all, they voted against the large group of residents who advocated so strongly against the development.  But Lambert and Perry are candidates supported by the radical local political action committee Tiverton 1st, and vacancies for the council are filled by the next-highest vote getter from the last election.  In this case, the replacement council member would not be from that group, but in opposition to it.

The date is still early, of course, so perhaps more councilors will find themselves in the cross hairs, but for now, politics appears to reign in town:  Elections in Tiverton are, on paper, non-partisan, but that doesn’t mean that the left-wingers don’t protect their own, no matter how badly they behave or how damaging their decisions.