Recuse yourself, then excuse yourself

Keyport Mayor John Merla said Monday he would recuse himself from Tuesday's hearing on an application to expand a liquor license for his brother's bar. Yet at that hearing, he interjected comments defending the application, sometimes in an agitated voice. That was totally inappropriate. Even if he sat in the audience and wore a paper bag over his head, people still know he's the mayor, and he's pushing his influence on a family member's business with his remarks and his tone.

Merla should have stayed home, or at least kept his thoughts to himself regarding a liquor license for one of the bars owned by his family, particularly when there were several neighbors on hand to voice concerns about noise, crowds and parking.

But Merla doesn't seem to give a hoot about what's right for the town or the concerns of residents, or what's ethical. He was indicted on a charge of extortion in February, the eighth count against him filed in the Operation Bid Rig scandal that broke last year. He's the only official in that group who remains in office, despite calls from the rest of the Borough Council that he step down. Those calls were repeated in February when Merla was indicted on the eighth count, this one charging him with extorting money from a solid waste disposal company doing business in the borough. But Merla just seems to grip more tightly to his chair. It's time that he let go.