In the town of Peru, local politics at their worst

I spent several days this spring talking with Peru town supervisor Donald Covel, his wife Linda and others in their community.

The topic? A great little town in free-fall, wracked by political in-fighting.

Peru used to be famous for its apples, and its Jamaican pickers. Now? Donald Covel has been convicted of official misconduct.

My sense talking to Mr. Covel was that he was in way over his head and had made some pretty bad choices.

But he also seemed like a local son who truly loves his community.

The good news here is that small, local governments can be far more resilient than big institutions like New York’s state Senate.

As Mr. Covel moves out of the headlines, a lot of locals will have to step up and try to rebuild the goodwill and competence that once defined Peru.