Mayors having a right 'mare in Florida: Acting mayor arrested weeks after boss also arrested

Plus: Another mayor defecates on floor at swearing-in ceremony, leaves

Democracy, eh? It's all fun and games until your elected mayor allegedly opens fire on the SWAT team come to arrest him, which is precisely what cops accused him of doing in the Floridian city of Port Richey last month. And now the acting mayor has been cuffed too.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that 64-year-old Terrence Rowe was arrested on Wednesday and was charged with obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate the commission of a crime. All of which sounds pretty serious for an ageing city official.

Just 20 days earlier, Rowe's boss, Mayor Dale Massad, 68, was arrested on charges of practising medicine without a licence in his home, which is what brought on the SWAT team standoff.

Rowe posted the $15,000 bail and has been released for the time being.

Massad, however, was denied the luxury. Alongside four counts of practising medicine without a licence, he now also faces five counts of attempted murder and two of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

It's reasonable to assume at this point that the arrests are connected, and cops confirmed as much, saying: "It's related but it's an off-shoot... From information we received, (Rowe) was conspiring to inject himself into an active criminal investigation."

Massad surrendered his medical licence in 1992 after accusations of negligence.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco described him as "a violent drug user who kept weapons in his home" – just who you want in charge of your town.

Indeed, a Tampa 'Times comment piece said of Mad-eye Massad: "He enjoyed intoxicants. He owned guns. He socialized with people of dubious repute," adding that many assumed the mayor's downfall to be "inevitable".

"You guys know I like to party," he reportedly told Port Richey cops in 2015.

On the other hand, unelected stateside officials aren't having a great week either. On Tuesday a three-year-old goat called Lincoln was sworn in as mayor of Fair Haven, Vermont.

The goofy position was dreamt up as a fundraiser for a playground, Canada's Global News reported. However, "on the way out of the offices, the honorary mayor defecated on the floor – leaving cleanup to the police chief and other attendees."

As Napoleon said: "In politics stupidity is not a handicap." ®