Some shifting of positions took place Monday night at the Peabody City Council meeting. Congratulations to all the shifters. Some good people stepped up to the plate and made a run for city office and we should all be grateful. Since they did it, we don’t have to. They will make the tough decisions and take the flack from their constituents. We can watch from the audience.

Tom Schmidt and Janice Woodruff were sworn in as councilmen and Larry Larsen became Peabody’s new mayor. A council position still is open. (Schmidt ran for his own slot while Woodruff and former council member Leslie LaFoy squared off for LaFoy’s place at the table. When Larsen was sworn in as mayor last night, his council position became vacant.) Two people have expressed an interest in serving. Good for them!

People in all Marion County towns and school districts went through the same process this past week. Some of them won their races; others did not. However, we all owe them our gratitude for being willing to serve. Having spent almost every Monday night for the past eight years observing city councils struggle with issues that impact the very survival of their communities, I can assure you their jobs are not easy.

I have said this before, but in my most humble opinion it bears repeating: thanks to all of you willing to take on the job of serving the public. To those of you who sit back and complain about every decision, the rest of us cannot wait to see your names on the ballot next time around!

— Susan Marshall