Arlington "Home of the Honkers" has a slight image problem.
(ARLINGTON, Ore.) - It is the "Home of the Honkers" and it is hard to miss the irony. A scantily clad image of the city of Arlington, Oregon's mayor is making the rounds on the Web today after news agencies lifted the image from her public MySpace page.
Arlington, Oregon's Mayor Carmen Kontur Gronquist did what many people do in the new Millennium; she posted images of herself on MySpace wearing lingerie. Maybe posing on a city fire vehicle was pushing it a bit, but then I lived in Las Vegas for five years where calendars feature the city's "sexiest firefighters."
We aren't talking nudity here folks, or overly expressive poses. So far just one image has crossed our desk and it is a sexy but somewhat tasteful photo.
Either way, the mayor is taking heat according to reports posted today as her lightly clad image flies around the Internet. One source, Digg.com, reports that this public official doesn’t care what other people will say about her pictures. Who can blame her? It is a free country last time I checked.
Another source, associatedcontent.com, points to the traditional side of this community of 524 residents that is named for the birthplace of Robert E. Lee. Their article suggests that the MySpace image of Gronquist is a poor fit with the city's rodeo and apple pie image.
Gronquist told the East Oregonian January 5th, that the photos are part and parcel of her personal life, and that they have no bearing on her professional life. Still, it appears that some local residents disagree and instead worry about their town's image as her photo is viewed by the rest of the world.
FOX News reported that the photos were taken some time before Gronquist became the town's Mayor. She has held the office for three years. It appears FOX and the conservative East Oregonian got their shovels out for this one. I am writing about it too, granted, but this strikes me as a matter of interest and not exactly a news story.
The mayor told reporters that there are citizens in the community who are perennially digging up dirt on others - "especially when it is considered salacious - and thus gives little thought to the concerns about residents with respect to the photos."
And there are Arlington residents coming to her aid, calling it a waste of time and a needless focus of attention. The Mayor did not pose nude, there are no allegations of anything other than a picture that could have been taken on a beach and caused little stir. Unless that beach was in Eastern Oregon of course.
For now, the Mayor has set her MySpace page to private. We placed a call to her office and she was not available for comment. If she reaches us we will bring you her remarks.
MySpace Photos of Oregon Mayor Causing Stir in ArlingtonSalem-News.com