The Bend City Council’s rules for censure may block the council from being able to reprimand Councilor Nathan Boddie. Is that terrible?

Not really. A public reprimand would send an official message of disapproval. But it carries no legal weight. Boddie could still participate in council meetings and vote normally.

Councilors can already describe how they feel about Boddie’s actions. And it’s not like Boddie, a Democrat, hasn’t received a clear message of disapproval from former supporters and the leadership of his own party.

Boddie is both a councilor and the Democratic candidate in the November election to determine who represents Bend in the Oregon House. In late June, FuturePAC, the political action committee of Oregon House Democrats, made allegations about Boddie.

It said he routinely acted in a sexist way, encouraged illegal drinking and used a homophobic slur. FuturePAC offered nothing to back up the allegations, apparently to protect the person or persons making them.

Days later, Moey Newbold of Bend, an employee of Central Oregon LandWatch, said Boddie groped her before he was elected to the council — sticking his hand under her underpants at a bar in 2012.

Boddie denied both sets of allegations. If they had no merit, that would be an appropriate response. But he inappropriately went beyond that, claiming Newbold had substance abuse problems.

Boddie’s ability to serve the community is over. He should step down from the council and drop out of the state race.

Denunciations of Boddie have piled up. They have come from Gov. Kate Brown, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, Councilors Sally Russell and Bill Moseley and other groups and individuals that once supported him.

As an entity, the Bend City Council may not be able to censure Boddie. Its authority under its rules is limited to his actions when he was a councilor. Newbold described an incident before Boddie was in office, and it’s not clear when the actions FuturePAC described occurred. The council could vote to change its rules to give it greater authority to censure a councilor. But the problem is not that Boddie needs more criticism. It’s that he should listen to it.