Holding elected office is not for the squeamish. It’s tough satisfying the public’s many needs with limited resources, and the constituents who elect officials can quickly turn on them when dissatisfied.

Waterford Selectman Whizzer Wheeler is a recent casualty of public life.

Last week, explaining that his wife has become so “upset with all the personal attacks by some very ugly people,” he decided to step down to restore calm to his family. Wheeler, the subject of a recall campaign launched on July 4, has been devoted to his responsibility to citizens during his 2 years in office. Not many selectmen – retired or not – are willing to put in hours working at the town office each day. Wheeler did that.

And, even though he no longer represents voters, he attended Monday’s selectmen’s meeting to answer whatever questions his former constituents may have had.

While not the most diplomatic individual, Wheeler provided leadership that produced citizen agreement on every article on the town meeting warrant for the first time in more than 150 years, including some very controversial items reorganizing the town’s property assessment process. People might not like his personality much, but it would be tough to classify Wheeler as ineffective.

The seven weeks between now and a special election to replace Wheeler will likely be tense for remaining Selectmen Norman Rust and David Rowe, and we urge the folks in Waterford to take a deep breath during this reorganization period and do what they can to remain civil.

At Monday’s meeting, the first time selectmen have met since Wheeler’s resignation, transfer station manager Rockie Graham turned on a personal tape recorder to create her own recording of the meeting. Selectman Rust was uncomfortable with her making the tape and said he’d prefer that she turn it off, but she’s legally entitled to record the meeting as long as she doesn’t interfere with the business at hand. We can’t see that a personal recorder on Graham’s lap could hinder the discussion of the board.

What can hinder discussion is for the Take Back our Waterford group, which initiated the recall campaign against Wheeler and which made Wheeler’s wife fearful of leaving her house, to pound on the two-man board of selectmen until the Sept. 8 election results in a replacement for Wheeler. If decisions of government are to shift in Waterford – which is what the Take Back our Waterford group wants – that shift is best made by a full board of selectmen and made with some distance from the recent cloud of dissension.