Within a couple of weeks, four people, the current members of the La Conner Town Council, will determine which one of the three citizens who have expressed their interest in serving will be selected to sit on council.

Usually, we rely on popular elections to determine who fills our legislative positions. That is not possible here because there is a vacant seat and it must be filled. So this particular “election” has four voters – the town council members. They will decide who will do the best job and who might best represent the majority of La Conner citizens.

Without a popular el...