NOW THAT Orangeville council has come out in favour of having future Dufferin wardens elected through county-wide general elections, it's time for everyone to give the idea some serious thought.

The idea appears to have arisen because of an East Garafraxa motion to have a second representative accredited to sit at county if the regular one is absent. That proposal went to a committee of council which, along with it, would consider direct election of the warden.

Historically, wardens have been elected for one-year terms. The alternative would see them serving four-year terms.

Orangeville councillor Gail Campbell sees it as "a matter of accountability. The warden needs to be directly accountable to the voter, not to the council."

But Mono Mayor Lorie Haddock says there doesn't seem to be much interest in discussing the idea and there's a wide difference of opinion.

Standing in the way of direct election is a concern that future wardens would tend to be from Orangeville, since it has half the county's population, and other highly qualified persons would have little chance of garnering enough votes.

As well, there's some doubt that residents would wish to have the same head of council for a full four-year term, although that still could happen with the current system, since several wardens in recent history have served consecutive one-year terms.

But as we see it, it's an idea that should be given serious consideration.