Rotating the position of chairman and vice chairman on county boards of supervisors in Buckingham and Prince Edward is a necessary evil.

The concept of rotating the chairmanship annually is far from a perfect system of selecting the leader of the elected boards, but, if adhered to, is a good first step in eliminating the “disunity,” “posturing” and “division” of the boards, according to the supervisors who proposed the changes.

The new process, which we view as a very progressive move for both boards, will have benefits, notably in Prince Edward County, where the division on the county board of supervisors has been most evident.

Just last Tuesday night, on a vote while the board was trying to reorganize in Prince Edward, supervisors deadlocked on a 4-4 vote while trying to decide how to pick the next chairman.

The board was set to deadlock again on selecting a new chair the traditional way before Buffalo District 501 Supervisor C.R. “Bob” Timmons made his position known.

Two years ago, supervisors in Prince Edward resorted to tossing a coin to select their chair and vice chair, who would serve for the following two years.

Rotating the chairmanship based on seniority is a much better option than resorting to chance to pick the next leader of the board and chief elected officer of the county.

Though rotating the position allows all supervisors to serve as chairman, not every supervisor is cut out to serve in the position, lead board meetings, represent the county at meetings and functions and provide a vision for the county and its residents.

Timmons said the concept behind his idea was to limit the position of chair to a one-year term and to “eliminate any disunity the board has or perception the board has, currently or in the future.”

“The guiding principle of this is to alleviate the posturing and division of the board at the start of each year,” Buckingham’s District Two Supervisor Donnie Bryan said.

We agree and commend both county boards for embracing a progressive but not perfect system.