Tuesday proved to be another victory for democracy; another victory for the right to vote and another victory in the right of citizens to choose who their elected leaders are.

It may not have been that dramatic, but the decision by the Selma City Council Tuesday afternoon to hold a special election next spring to fill the soon-to-be open council position representing Ward 3 was nonetheless momentous and correct.

Although the person elected to represent Ward 3 will have less than half a full term to serve and will almost immediately begin running for re-election the simple fact area residents will have the chance to choose for themselves cannot be ignored.

The process of appointing representatives is fine when it comes to committees, advisory councils and bodies such as that, although there are those who would say the recent process of appointing two members to the water board resulted in a questionable selection — but when it comes to governing bodies such as city councils and county commissions, the people’s voice must be heard and votes must be counted.

Yes, it would have nice for the city to have included the amount of a special election in their 2010-2011 budget, especially since the departing Dr. Monica Newton announced her plans to leave earlier this year, but the money that is set to be spent is worth it if the person elected is chosen by a majority of the voters in Ward 3.

In the end, the Selma City Council made the right decision and for that they should be thanked and commended.