Last November, four liberals won seats on the Manlius Town Board in New York, flipping it back to Democratic control and giving them a 5-1 advantage on the committee. (It was a 5-1 Republican advantage before the elections.)

Huge change, obviously, and the result of a grassroots campaign that focused on the need for more transparency at meetings and more public involvement.

Last week, when those new members were sworn into office, they showed just how difference this board would be when three of them chose not to take their oath on a Bible. They took their oaths on the town book of codes instead.