Stonington First Selectman Ed Haberek played the victim card in announcing Tuesday his decision to resign effective Nov. 30.

"Serving in elected office has great satisfaction, but also a great toll and results in many good people choosing not to enter this arena. I dedicated a significant amount of my time and effort which resulted in a difference in my career and family in this position. I have made my 'public life' public and look forward to returning to the private sector and having my 'private life' private," Mr. Haberek wrote in his resignation announcement on Facebook and in an email to town employees.

Yet Mr. Haberek, a Democrat, has only himself to blame for the private and public aspects of his life painfully overlapping, contributing significantly to the "great toll" to which he alludes.

It was Mr. Haberek who used a town-issued BlackBerry phone to exchange graphically sexual conversations with Tracy Swain. She subsequently sued both Mr. Haberek and the town, alleging that in 2010 he sent a graphic photo of himself to her. For months he denied the claims, before admitting under oath during a deposition a year ago that he had sent a picture of a naked man, but testified it was not his image and that he used a home computer.

The lawsuit drags on, but regardless of its outcome, Mr. Haberek's actions were inappropriate and unbecoming of an elected official.

When such "private" actions get the town sued, it becomes a public matter. Tracking down a tip that the incident was not isolated, a Day reporter eight months ago asked for all text messages and emails sent from the first selectman's town BlackBerry in 2011 and 2012. The Haberek administration has failed to comply, leading the newspaper to file a complaint with the state Freedom of Information Commission.

Officials with nothing to hide usually don't stall on providing information, but this administration has made a habit of it.

Elected to a fourth two-year term last November, many constituents like Mr. Haberek. He is highly visible in the community, active during weather emergencies and fiscally conservative. The fact that the wounds that undermined his popularity were largely self-inflicted appears to be a reality he cannot or will not accept.