Langley Councilmember Rene Neff wants Whidbey Islanders to “stop bullying” her fellow councilmember Robert Gilman. She posted a blog entry on the city’s website attacking South Whidbey Record guest columnist Kathleen Waters for a piece she wrote about how Gilman’s proposed revisions to the town’s land-use plan sucks major ass. Neff no likey. So she used the city’s website to sound off against Waters and against “negative blogs, articles and gossip” about the council in general. Now the public no likey. The P-I

reports today that since the blog entry was posted last week, residents have been coming out of the woodwork to demand that she resign over her seeming inability to handle criticism–or rather, to handle criticism directed at her boy Gilman. Waters, meanwhile, tells the P-I that “Mr. Gilman is totally capable of defending himself. There was absolutely no need for another council person to defend him.”Whether penning an angry rant at the newspaper is grounds for the resignation of an elected leader is debatable. Elected officials at much higher levels than the Langley City Council frequently write columns that appear in newspapers across the country. And nowadays, the same leaders also regularly maintain blogs that let them barf out as many incoherent ramblings as their server space will allow.So it’s understandable that Neff’s less-than-stellar delivery and whining tone might draw the ire of those who disagree with her message. But if folks start demanding that politicians quit any time they rant against the media or other critics, there aren’t going to be many politicians left. Then who will newspaper columnists have to criticize?