sending again. trying for html. > > I agree. Women sometimes do govern differently. > arthur > > When the mayor said 'cheese,' everyone in town had a feast > 10 December 2003 > The Globe and Mail > Vancouver BC > As the first female mayor of the northern B.C. town of Houston, Sharon > Smith was proud of her accomplishments. So was her husband. So proud that > he snapped photos of Her Worship wearing the chain of office - and nothing > else. > Everything was fine until photos of a smiling Ms. Smith were allegedly > copied from her home computer during a house party her kids threw, then > circulated around the mill town of 4,300. > Now, the risqué shots of the toned and tan mayor are the talk of the town > in coffee shops and on mill floors. In a town so small that gossip travels > nearly as fast as the Internet, the mayor's photos have made quite a > splash. > Ms. Smith, 48, a former nurse, councillor and mother of three boys, is > mortified - but unrepentant. In a letter to the local weekly paper, Ms. > Smith said the photos were taken during a private moment with her husband. > > "My privacy has been violated in every sense," Ms. Smith wrote in her > letter earlier this month to Houston Today. "These photos are private > property belonging to my husband and me. I am very hurt and embarrassed." > She said the photos are stolen property and warned that people who > "knowingly" possess them are breaking the law. > Ms. Smith did not return phone calls made to her Houston office yesterday. > But in an interview with a Vancouver newspaper, Ms. Smith said her husband > took the photos because "he was proud of the fact that I was mayor. > "We made sure that we were not infringing on anyone else. It was a private > moment and that's all it was." > In one full-length photo (a portion of which appears at left) she is > seated naked, with the mayor's medallion draped around her neck. > Ms. Smith told the Vancouver Province she did not intend to disgrace the > mayor's office, and has no plans to resign. She said most townspeople > stand by her and have offered support. > However, one former town councillor is aghast at Ms. Smith's behaviour, > calling it a "catastrophic error in judgment" and demanding she resign. > Nipper Kettle said that he recognized the location of the photos as the > mayor's office and that many Houston residents are unimpressed with the > mayor's defensive reaction. > Mr. Kettle said Ms. Smith should have apologized to residents rather than > play the role of crime victim. > "I pretty much condemn what she's done," said Mr. Kettle, who worked with > Ms. Smith when both were councillors. "To have pictures on your computer > at home is not a big deal, I guess. That's within your rights. > "But when you go down to the municipal office that is paid for by the > taxpayers and do those kinds of things and wearing the chain of office, > that's where people see the wrongdoing here. People are feeling let down > and very distraught. > "It's something that shouldn't have been done because that shows total > disrespect for the office that you hold." > RCMP Sergeant Dave Fenson confirmed that police are investigating a theft > from the Smith home in early November. > Sgt. Fenson said it's believed someone with access to the computer took > the photos. But it's not a break-and-enter. > Mr. Kettle said that according to town rumour, the photographs were stolen > during a party thrown by Ms. Smith's sons when their parents were out. > A young guest playing on the computer burned a disk of the photos and they > began circulating around town. The RCMP would not confirm this version. > Meanwhile, town administrator Jack Mussallem described Ms. Smith as a > hardworking mayor. > "All I can tell you is that she works very hard on behalf of the community > and is very diligent about her work." > An avid outdoorswoman, Ms. Smith was featured in a recent B.C. magazine > that showed pictures of her skiing with her family and posing with the > carcass of a moose she had shot. In the article, Ms. Smith said she saw > herself as a role model to kids and women in the community. > "If you set your goals, set your sights on something you want to do, you > can achieve it. You don't have to come from a special family or special > background; if you want to be there, just work hard and you can do it." > -----------------------
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