Editorial: Some government jobs require more professionalism than popularity

Elections or appointments can fill a job vacancy in one of two ways.

It may by popular acclamation — meaning of all the people up for a job, one person emerges as the favorite. Or it may be by default if only one person is in the running.

In jobs that are about doing the will of the people, either way could work. The position of mayor, for instance, is about representing the residents. Being a favorite of the voters or the only option does get the seat filled and the duties fulfilled.

But there are other jobs that require actual tasks with specific skills. A district attorney is a county’s top prosecutor, and while not all of them spend time in a courtroom, they are still responsible for understanding that job and directing how it is done. Controllers, treasurers and auditors all deal with money. Clerks of court, registers and recorders manage the organization and maintenance of mountains of data and details.

These are important, professional responsibilities. Is a popularity contest the best way to get them done?

Coroners are one elected office where that question has been asked. Many coroners historically have been funeral directors rather than someone with expertise in medicine like a pathologist who can perform autopsies, or a law expert who understands investigations. Some counties, like Allegheny, have opted to change to hiring a medical examiner instead.

Auditors can be an issue for municipalities. Few people vie for the job, which may be either elected or appointed. It can become something passed down like a bequest. When no one runs for the office, the necessary work gets hired out to an accounting firm or professional auditor.

Freeport may be facing that demand. The borough’s three auditors have all quit. The interesting aspect of this incident? The auditors themselves say a professional is needed.

“After reviewing 40-some pages of guidelines and attending one meeting, I feel it consists of more than just signing your name to a document saying an audit was done properly,” James Swartz Jr. wrote in his resignation letter. “I would encourage each council member to read the guidelines and see what an audit entails.”

Swartz is right. The auditing of government books is not like balancing a checkbook or filling out a tax return. The increasingly complicated nature of a municipality’s funding, expenditures, grant writing and more, make the process something that requires broader and deeper knowledge than it did decades ago.

The Westmoreland County register of wills conundrum also shows the need for important jobs to have appropriate skills. Sherry Magretti Hamilton was found in contempt of court Tuesday after multiple hearings and orders to get her office into order and address the backlog of filings and adoption certificates.

The judges in that case are appointing a conservator to correct the problems, and Commissioner Ted Kopas has called for her to resign. So did we.

The jobs of government are not a joke. Some positions should demand certain qualifications, the way a DA or a judge needs a law degree. And if no qualified individuals run for election or step forward for appointment, it would be better to have the jobs done by qualified professionals.