Rehoboth voters may have been happy to hear that challenger Gerry Schwall does not plan to contest the results of Monday's recall election, in which a 54 percent majority decided to keep Selectman Chris Morra in office. This small town is surely happy to be done with a political campaign that rivaled presidential contests on the nastiness meter.

But the words Schwall used indicate it may be premature for citizens to unbuckle their seat belts. "One thing I can say is that we won't be litigating this," declared Schwall, taking what amounts to a parting shot at Morra, who came under fire for having sued the town. The bumpy ride in Rehoboth politics apparently isn't over yet.

Someone could argue that that's a good thing. The recall campaign, which has been going on for months as a result of flaws in the initial set of petitions, made citizens take notice. Some 49 percent of the registered voters turned out Monday for a one-decision election in an era when a full town ballot in a regularly scheduled spring election is lucky to draw 30 percent.

The high turnout, however, was the result of the politics of division. Neighbor was pitted against neighbor. Involvement in the recall was high, but the prospects of the town reuniting on matters of civic betterment appear very low.

Alas, this was predictable. A similar scenario was acted out in Mansfield last year - two selectmen targeted for recall were kept in office, but political turmoil continues in the town. Indeed, recalls have had similar results nearly everywhere they have been tried. They tend to accomplish nothing but to stop local government in its tracks and divide a community. Yes, we're aware that the bar to mount a recall is quite high, involving the collection of
hundreds of signatures, but it should be even higher. Be that as it may, Rehoboth now faces the task of reuniting and getting local government back on track. It won't be easy. Along with his less-than-conciliatory concession, Schwall has announced he will be a candidate in the spring against Morra ally Stephen Martin. And while we agree with the majority of voters that Morra's style in dealing with town employees and officials was in no way cause for recall, it is a style that does not point toward an interest in fence-mending with his rivals.

Our hope from here is that some of the town's elder statespeople talk with the selectman and his opponents and convince them to put the good of the town ahead of their own political interests, at least for the time being. Everyday citizens would do well to keep track of town hall goings-on and make their objections known if there are violations of civility. Their message to town officials should be to concentrate on governing and let politics cool off until next spring. For now the public has had a bellyful.