Bend City Councilor Nathan Boddie failed to attend the scheduled Wednesday night council meeting this week. That’s not surprising. He’s been the subject of unpleasant accusations recently, and lying low might well be more comfortable than exposing himself to an audience and cameras.

His problems, though not apparently directly tied to his duties on the council, are real. They became public in late June when FuturePAC, the campaign arm of the Legislature’s House Democrats, withdrew support for Boddie’s candidacy to represent Bend in the Oregon House as a result of what it called “serious allegations of inappropriate behavior,” including homophobic remarks, sexist behavior and encouragement of underage drinking.

They grew worse when Moey Newbold, a young woman who works at Central Oregon LandWatch, told Oregon Public Broadcasting about a 6-year-old incident in which, she claimed, Boddie groped her in a bar. The clamor against Boddie grew. Public employee unions and others, including Gov. Kate Brown, also withdrew support and called on Boddie to drop out.

Boddie’s absence Wednesday should raise concerns. If he continues to miss meetings, he’s failing to do the things he was elected to do in 2014 and he should step down from council.

City councilors, Boddie included, are elected to provide direction for the city of Bend. They’re policy setters, and as such they decide everything from the future of the city’s Juniper Ridge property to the redesign of the city’s south Mirror Pond parking lot. Boddie is already not doing his job by not showing up.