To the editor:

So now we know. Mayor Larry Kiker has told us.

The press made him do it. That big, bad old press made me do it, the mayor is saying.

The council fired Scott Janke because that bad old press would have distracted the town staff with a lot of questions about Janke’s wife.

“Because of the disruptions this story could offer, the council acted quickly on his behalf,” the mayor told us.

Sure. They put Scott out of work for his own good. Uh huh.

If you believe that there is a bridge in Brooklyn, you will surely want to buy.

The disruption has been caused by the council’s poor decision. The press has focused as much or more on the firing than on the woman Scott married. And it is the council’s clumsy, knee-jerk reaction that has embarrassed this island nationwide, not Scott’s choice of wives. In Chicago, where I am visiting, people are talking about the council, not about Mrs. Janke.

I wonder. If Scott Janke had married Meg Ryan or Meryl Streep, would he now be without a job?

Why do I think not?

Lee Melsek

Fort Myers Beach