The Choosing of State Officials in Representative Democratic Mode: Superintendent of the State Police-By Harsha Sankar

 
Dear Citizen,                                          October 2020

Of the departments of the state's executive branch which should not be chosen by the governor or state legislature, the Superintendent of the State Police is that department that  should investigates and if necessary should  indict all state and local government officials, employees, and contractors who are suspected of a crime or are a witness to such. The State Police also should maintain law and order on all infrastructure belonging to state and federal government, including highways.

A candidate for Superintendent Of State Police should not be a participant in any branch of government for at least one year prior to the election. That candidate should also neither belong to any organization that is not publicly announced nor should its contents of its meetings be sealed in secrecy for at least two years prior to the election. Finally, that candidate should not belong to any group comprised solely of any government branch participants.

The governor should accept all the applicants eligible for this position, limit the number of candidates for this position to ten, and then submit these choices of candidates to the State Senate. The reason the State Senate is the body to review these choices is because they deal with matters which are both non-financial and affect the entire state.

The upper house (State Senate) limits the number of candidates to five and then submits that list to the mayor or to the chairman of the county board of supervisors of all localities. The mayor or the chairman of the county board of supervisor decide his or her choice of candidate and then he or she submits his or her choice to the Governor. The candidate who receives the majority of their votes is declared the Superintendent Of The State Police.

If a candidate cannot get the majority of their votes to choose him or her, then the Top Three candidates are voted on, with a quorum of two-thirds, by the lower house(house of delegates/assemblymen) of the state legislature. It is important to involve this specific house at this stage since they have not had previous involvement. The candidate who receives the majority of votes from its members is declared the Superintendent of the State Police.

If a candidate still cannot get a majority of the lower house(house of delegates/assemblymen) votes, then the Top Two candidates who received the highest number of lower house votes are voted on by the upper house(State Senate). The State Senate at this stage will be involved again in the selection of the Superintendent of the State Police as the majority of its members, with a quorum of two-thirds, makes final decision.

Harsha Sankar
Virginia, USA