An elective office is not something one can give away to whomever he chooses.

And that is only the first thing wrong with re-elected Methuen School Committeeman Kenneth Henrick's declaration that he will give up his seat to ousted fellow incumbent George Kazanjian, and Kazanjian's declaration that he would accept it.

It is not legal. It would violate the City Charter. It is absurd, or, in the words of fellow Committeeman Robert Vogler, "hilarious."

Henrick's intentions may be honorable. He finished sixth in the running for six seats, just five votes ahead of Kazanjian. He is 70, and says Kazanjian is his "buddy. He's younger than me and he's a sharp guy."

Perhaps all true. But none of that is relevant here. What is relevant is that the voters spoke. Those who went to the polls may have been almost evenly divided, but this is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that there has been a close election.

If Henrick did not intend to serve if elected, or if he thought he might reject his seat if he didn't like the overall results, he should not have run.

Vogler was also correct when he observed, "This isn't a game and it shouldn't be treated as a game."

If Henrick does not want to serve, he does not have to hold his seat. He is free to resign. But it is the charter and state law, not Henrick, that determines how a vacancy is filled.

While it would seem logical that if an elected official steps down before his or her term even begins, the seat would go to the next-highest vote getter — in this case, Kazanjian — City Solicitor Peter McQuillan said that is not necessarily so.

Mayor William Manzi, who chairs the School Committee, said he believes the committee would choose someone to fill the seat, but McQuillan said the situation is, "something that should be reviewed very carefully," and would not be immediately known.

That is fine. There is plenty of time before the new term begins in January to sort it out.

Henrick said yesterday if the seat wouldn't automatically go to Kazanjian, and the School Committee could pick a successor, he might be hesitant to resign.

He should reconsider. Is he declaring that he knows better than anyone — the rest of the committee and the voters — who should hold the seat? That is profoundly disrespectful to voters, and that disrespect could be returned, making it difficult for either Henrick or Kazanjian to be effective on the committee in the coming term.