Those in Smithfield’s leadership class who are still smarting from the results of last year’s Town Council election and the unmistakable mandate delivered by voters should do some soul-searching.

As Smithfield Planning Commission Chair Julia Hillegass noted to colleagues at the end of a work session last week, that might mean voluntarily stepping aside if you can’t get on board with the council’s commitment to following the citizenry’s wishes and better managing residential growth.

To date, there’s been too much pouting among those in the former ruling class, especially on the Planning Commission, some of whose members are choosing a course of obstinance and denial of reality.

Town Councilman Darren Cutler, who also serves on the Planning Commission, was told during the work session that the planners need more direction from the Town Council when in fact all they need to do is read the room. Citizens have said time and again — in forums ranging from public hearings on specific projects to public opinion surveys to the ballot box — that they don’t want their quality of life trampled by the excessive residential growth that leadership has greenlighted in recent years.

Planning commissioners have two excellent role models in developer Joseph Luter IV and Town Councilman Steve Bowman, who were on the wrong side of the debate about residential growth but have acted with class, grace and conciliation since the voters spoke so clearly in November. Despite losing his position as mayor after just two years, Bowman has consistently acknowledged the voters’ wishes and a new council majority’s mandate to deliver on their campaign promise to slow the pace of housing growth. Luter voluntarily scaled back his Grange at 10Main development in response to the election results.

Unfortunately, some planning commissioners have chosen to double down and defend the decisions that caused the election backlash. Commissioner Thomas Pope, in last week’s work session, even admitted to taking criticism of his Planning Commission actions personally. A beloved physician and all-around good fellow, Pope, sadly, has let the stress of public service get the best of him.

If you voted for them and want to continue to believe that the monstrous Mallory Pointe subdivision and the original, but thankfully discarded, version of the Grange at 10Main were good for Smithfield, that’s your prerogative. But you must also concede that the overwhelming majority of citizens disagree strongly and that the new Town Council majority is squarely on the side of the citizenry.

Huffy defenses of past mistakes is a poor look for otherwise good people. So is snarkiness toward those who are attempting to learn from those mistakes, do damage control and put Smithfield on a more fiscally sustainable course that protects our unique small town from the excesses of rapid residential development.