THE ISSUE   The nature of government in Berwyn has been that individual agendas often trump public service.

OUR VIEW   Today’s spirit of cooperation must not be allowed to devolve into tomorrow’s personal attacks on adversaries.

The recent swearing-in of new Berwyn public officials was a sight to behold.

A rare sense of camaraderie permeated the City Council meeting last week. Incoming council members seemed genuinely pleased to be working together. An orderly transition of power occurred from one administration to another.

God bless America — and Berwyn!

For democracy, this is a good thing indeed. Public officials should get along, and a change in leadership must be civil.

But this begs the question of how long the honeymoon will last. For as awe-inspiring as democracy is, politics tend to make things messy. The neat and tidy passing of governmental reins will eventually give way to a grab for power.

Such a development is inevitable. Incumbent council members will want to see how much authority they can retain in the new era. Newly elected public officials will test the waters to see how much leverage they can wield.

Berwyn politics frequently appears to degenerate into personal vendettas. This is not exclusive to the city, but our local public officials have mastered the art of using authority to take a swipe at their adversaries.

The most recent campaign season offers a prime example. Someone began distributing a horribly insulting and inaccurate flier regarding 5th Ward aldermanic candidate Jesse Barrios.

Claiming a city employee distributing these fliers had supported the Democratic Citizens of Berwyn Party, former Mayor Michael O’Connor ordered police officers to raid the campaign office of 4th Ward Alderman Michele Skryd. She was a member of the Democratic Citizens of Berwyn Party, and O’Connor figured that the fliers must have come from her office.

Creating and distributing these fliers was contemptible — as well as potentially libelous. They painted a distorted picture of Barrios, and this may have affected the race.

Even so, O’Connor had no right to intimidate Skryd by ordering police to raid her office and search through the material there. This was a gross abuse of power, and members of the new administration must not repeat this type of provocative measure.

Let’s hope this new council moves beyond the petty grievances and abuses of authority in which previous officials have engaged. These public servants have sworn an oath to act in the best interests of Berwyn residents. All of us, as members of the community, must hold them to their word.