Mr. Righeimer says the councilmen facing re-election were targeted because they supported pension reforms.

WSJ: To Serve and Protect��Police Pensions

Locals have numerous theories, including the popular tale of disgruntled townsfolk attacking city councilmen during a town celebration.

BBC: Spain's La Tomatina festival

The Council management is integrated by four councilmen designated by the President of the Republic and confirmed by two thirds of the Senate.

UNESCO: All Events | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Councilmen Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams, who sponsored all the proposals, said they appreciated the "productive negotiations, " but lawmakers needed to go further than the inspector general proposal.

NPR: Lawmakers Reach Deal For NYPD Inspector General

His top challengers are councilmen Chris Bell, (D), a former Brown supporter, and Orlando Sanchez (R), a Cuban immigrant who is hoping to become the city's first Hispanic mayor.

CNN: New York, other major U.S. cities look for new stewards

Washington fought the councilmen in court but lost.

CNN: From Protest To Politics

Real town meetings--I mean the old-fashioned kind in which a town's voting population meets annually to bicker, gossip, elect councilmen, vote on bond issues--are anachronisms today, surviving only in a few eccentric backwaters of Ye Olde New England.

CNN: Essay: Ye Olde Town Gimmick