Oregon mayor criticized for racy pictures

ARLINGTON, Ore., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The mayor of Arlington, Ore., has drawn criticism for photos on her MySpace page that depict the official in her bra and panties on a town fire engine.

The photos of Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, which she said were taken before her election three years ago, are viewable only to MySpace friends of the mayor, but at one point they were visible top all visitors to the social networking Web site, The East Oregonian reported Tuesday.

Some residents have complained that the pictures reflect poorly on the town.

"It's a picture of her in bra and panties on a rural protection fire truck in a rural protection firehall," said longtime resident Lorena Woods. "This isn't the way we want our city to be portrayed."

The mayor, who also works part time as the fire department's executive secretary, said there's no reason for the public to be upset about the pictures.

"That my personal life," she told the newspaper. "It has nothing to do with my mayor's position."