If you were going into war, whom would you want to lead you - the smartest person or the most all-around qualified individual?

We would want someone who is most qualified to lead and that may go far beyond the basic book smarts. Great leaders have vision, charisma and intelligence, leadership qualities that inspire others.

Few of those can be measured by a simple test.

These same qualities apply to determining whom the City of Ironton's police and fire chiefs are going to be - individuals who lead the city on the front lines of fighting crimes and fires.

To address these concerns, the Ironton City Council proposed an ordinance that would change the current system that is based very heavily on a test. The change would ultimately have to be approved by voters but that won't happen this year since the plan received enough votes but was not approved soon enough to go onto the November ballot.

Though any changes will not likely affect the current chief's position vacancy, we urge council to consider this in the future because it would help ensure that the most qualified individual is in place.

The changes would have allowed the mayor to select a police or a fire chief from the five candidates who scored the highest on a pre-designed test. Candidates would not be limited solely to eligible captains within department, the individual must agree to live within the city and the mayor's nomination would have to be confirmed by city council.

The individual would still have to meet all state law enforcement requirements to hold such a position.

Some detractors say it would make the position too political because each would still be employed at the mayor's will. This may be true but we believe that someone's record will likely stand for itself and prevent constant changes in the department.

The proposal may not have been a perfect plan but it seems better than the system already in place.

When it comes to choosing Ironton's leaders, we want the city to have the best available not just the best test taker.