Today's Opinions

A few weeks ago, we used this space to say that, generally speaking, we supported the idea of having Chester City Council bring in some members of the public with a law enforcement background to review applications for the vacant police chief position. After hearing more details of how that arrangement will work and given a bit of reflection, we have developed some misgivings.

In most cases, we think that elected officials need to go with their own beliefs and instincts when it comes to making big decisions. There is obviously nothing wrong with listening to constituents, bot those in office knew that decision-making was the largest part of the job description when they decided to run and leaning on public opinion can sometimes mean they are more heavily influenced by their own circle or by the people who are the loudest or most invested in a given issue.

Members of Chester City Council frequently make a point of noting that their role is to make policy, not to run the day-to-day business of the city. That may be the case, but they are now tasked with hiring the people who do.