You might have noticed the T-shirts and bumper-stickers noting that the mayor in the movie "Jaws" (1975) is still the mayor in "Jaws 2" (1978).

They have been around for several years.

The point, of course, is that it is important to hold elected officials accountable and vote their asses out of office when appropriate.

That's clear enough. But what's not so clear is just how Mayor Larry Vaughn, played by Murray Hamilton, kept his job. I have a few theories.

1. He had just begun a four-year term in the original movie.

2. Male voters in Amity believed they were re-electing Mr. Robinson from "The Graduate" and thought his stunning daughter would come to the island for visits. 

3. Despite his uninspiring executive actions in "Jaws," Mayor Vaughn managed to paint his opponent in the next election as soft on sharks.

4. His daring fashion sense swayed easily duped voters.

5. Many incumbents get re-elected even if they are guilty of the equivalent of ordering the beaches kept open and some poor kid gets chomped in half as a direct result.

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