Our View:Why are offices partisan?

One of the strangest things about county elections is the fact that all of the county’s elected positions are partisan.

For someone campaigning to be a county commissioner, this isn’t a problem. All you need to be a commissioner is a set of ideals you think will help the county and enough support from like-minded individuals to get elected. Experience isn’t necessary and sometimes, even frowned upon. Claiming a party affiliation makes sense here because belonging to a party says a lot about the candidate’s views on how the county should operate.

This view doesn’t apply to the other offices up for election. Those who serve as the county’s coroner, treasurer or attorney need to have specialized education to serve in their respective capacities. Voters likely won’t want to support for someone seeking election as Sweetwater County Attorney if they are not an attorney, regardless of which party they’re a part of. Beyond that idea, party membership doesn’t indicate success in one of these roles. A Democrat can’t argue about being better as a sheriff than a Republican simply because of party affiliation. With that in mind, why are these positions partisan in the first place? Why doesn’t the legislature make these positions nonpartisan? Party affiliation is meaningless for these positions.

On the other hand, why aren’t positions on city and town councils partisan? Like a county commissioner, council positions are mainly legislative in nature, setting policy for the municipality the council serves. Even in towns with what’s known as a strong mayor, a mayor that manages the day-to-day operations of a town, allowing them to run as a member of a political party would help voters understand the basic philosophy behind how they want to run things. A strong mayor isn’t as bound to state statutes as some elected officials are.

One solution would be to make the positions of treasurer, assessor, clerk of district court and the like into appointed positions. However, this is not a good solution as it would cause additional problems like creating a situation where loyalists to a party or the commissioners could be rewarded with these positions, regardless of experience. They could also be handled like any other job, where applicants are interviewed and selected based on merit by an HR director.

We won’t likely see any change to this system until a grassroots effort develops to see it through. However, shifting these county positions away from a partisan election system would better benefit the counties, giving them a chance to seek candidates based on expertise and not the constantly shifting political winds.