Rumford selectmen made the right decision during a special session Monday night.

Selectmen were presented with a request, including the signatures of 27 residents, to allow a meeting to consider the recall of board Chairman Jim Thibodeau.

According a report in the Sun Journal, Ron Theriault would like to kick Thibodeau out of office because he has a negative attitude and is unwilling to cooperate with other towns and organizations to promote economic development.

It’s a bad idea to recall an elected official over something as subjective as a bad attitude. Judgments of attitude are often in the eye of the beholder.

Thibodeau has served on the board for 14 years. Residents have the opportunity to replace him during each election. But they have chosen not to. While its unreasonable to think that every decision Thibodeau has made is correct, voters have had their say and will have the opportunity to have their say again in the future.

The power to recall elected officials should be used sparingly. Recall, it’s important to remember, reverses the will of voters, essentially undoing an election.

Efforts to launch a recall should be used only in cases of significant misconduct. The charges against Thibodeau appear to fall well short of that threshold.