Should sheriffs, prosecutors be elected on a non-partisan basis?

Dennis Lennox, in his column this week for the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun, reports that pending legislation in Lansing would do away with partisan elections for county sheriffs and prosecutors. Instead, the top lawmen would run in a non-partisan fashion, much like the way we handle our judicial elections.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Less partisanship is almost always a good thing. The clerk, treasurer and especially the public works commissioner should also be elected a non-partisan basis. Those offices are mostly administrative by nature and essentially have nothing to do with Republican vs. Democrat.

The “Big Five” countywide offices in Macomb have been dominated by Democrats for decades. Yet, no one could accuse those officials of playing politics for the benefit of the Democratic Party. In many cases, these countywide officials have been the type of rare political animal that is increasingly unique to Macomb County: the conservative Democrat.

Can you imagine someone referring to Democratic Treasurer Ted Wahby as a liberal?

It should be noted that law enforcement is an area where partisan and political lines blur. If a sheriff and prosecutor call for more manpower (more spending) in order to cut the crime rate and beef up the criminal justice system, is that liberal or conservative?

Lennox, however, makes the case that we simply “can’t take the politics out of politics.” A Republican activist, Lennox asserts that ballots with the “R” or “D” attached to candidates’ names leads to more informed voting by the public.

Here’s a portion of his argument:

“It is difficult to see how doing away with the partisan nomination of some or even all of the countywide officeholders would actually improve government in any manner.

“It might actually make things worse, as candidates in the system that (the) legislation creates could use the premise of their non-partisan candidacy to avoid important questions about political philosophy and the role of government.
“They may not be old-fashioned machine bosses, but sheriffs, prosecutors and other county politicians are very much political creatures.”