THEIR VIEW
Perhaps his most important appointment

In a state where sheriffs are elected on partisan ballots and routinely involve themselves in party politics, where both the Highway Patrol and the rotating agencies that oversee it have been known for their own hardball politics and marred by spectacular political scandals, where even the FBI has not always been above taking advantage of the perks of our back-scratching culture of favoritism, the State Law Enforcement Division has stood as a beacon of integrity.

For the last 20 years - an eternity in politics, spanning four vastly different governors - Robert Stewart has been both the source of and the personification of that integrity. ...

Now to Gov. Mark Sanford falls the unenviable task of choosing a replacement. It may well be the most important appointment he makes. The SLED chief is not a Cabinet member whom a governor can dismiss at a whim. He serves for 10 years, which means it's possible that a single term could span four governors. ...

It might not be essential that the chief be a career SLED employee, but whoever leads the agency needs to be a consummate professional, a skilled police officer with extensive experience both on the front lines and as a manager. And the next chief needs to be someone who inspires confidence in prosecutors and police, in politicians and ordinary citizens, regardless of their race or gender or political affiliations. In short, that person needs to be very much like Robert Stewart.

The (Columbia) State