The recent Democratic primary duel between Sheriff Kevin Joyce and retired state police Sgt. Michael Edes was expensive, bitter and wholly unnecessary.

Expensive, because Edes is said to have raised the most money ever in a sheriff’s contest. The bulk of the proceeds came from Gray businessman Michael Liberty, friends with Edes since their school days, who donated $100,000 to a political action committee supporting the Edes campaign.

Bitter, because each side’s fangs were out in what is usually a ho-hum contest for top cop in the county. This year was anything but, primarily because of Liberty’s record-setting and eyebrow-raising donation. Joyce upped the ante when he asked for a state ethics board review of the Liberty connection, and, for his part, Edes came out punching early by heavily criticizing the sheriff for lack of oversight at the county jail, including sexcapades between inmates.

And wholly unnecessary, because why do we have a sheriff’s election in the first place?

County government is a strange animal here in Maine. The news media rarely covers anything that happens at that level, except, it seems, when matters pertain to the civic center, which the county oversees. Ask residents who their county commissioner is and they’ll likely look bewildered. There are five of them now, up from three just a few years ago: Neil Jamison Jr., Susan Witonis, Mark Grover, Tom Coward and James Cloutier.

While most people know who the sheriff is, very few probably know who the county manager is. (His name is Peter Crichton, and he’s been in the position since 1999).

So, of the county officials, we elect the commissioners and the sheriff but not the county manager, who is appointed by the commissioners.

On a municipal scale, we don’t elect police chiefs. We don’t elect town managers or school superintendents. Voters elect town councilors or selectmen and school board members, who then appoint those very important positions.

On the state level, we don’t elect the Maine attorney general, who arguably is the top law enforcement officer in the state, since all cases eventually run through that department for prosecution. The position is appointed by the Maine Legislature, which is an elected body.

For reasons made clear in the sheriff’s primary, it’s time to rethink how sheriffs are installed. Sheriffs should be appointed by county commissioners, which would help keep politics out of the matter.

People rightly felt strange about Liberty’s contribution because it smelled funny. Yes, they may be old friends and the multi-millionaire Liberty probably doesn’t think much of $100,000, but to the average county resident, that just didn’t seem right. If Edes had won, voters would wonder what kind of favors he’d have to pay back as a result of that PAC funding. In retrospect, Liberty’s donation probably sank Edes’ chances, ironically.

The sheriff’s position is not a political one. We don’t think of Joyce as a Democrat or Republican or Green or Independent when we hear him on the radio or TV or in an article providing information about an important public safety matter. He’s the sheriff, the top cop in the county, not a glad-handing politico with allegiances to one side of the aisle.

Joyce, who lives in Standish and grew up in Windham, is not a politician either. He’s a cop’s cop. Mark Dion before him was more of a politician, knowing what to say and how to say it. Joyce is an average Joe, not mincing words, which is something people like about him. Though he has no choice in the matter, seeing him run aligned with a political party taints that unbiased, independent quality people expect of their public safety officials.

That’s why we need a new system. The county commissioners, who are elected, should appoint the best person for the job. A host of other important positions on the local, county and state levels are appointed, and that system seems to work just fine. Do the same for the sheriff. After a long and drawn-out primary that raised hackles and eyebrows on both sides, all Maine residents deserve better.

John Balentine, managing editor