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The Republican Central committees for Frederick and Washington counties missed a good opportunity this week to set an example of transparency in government.

Instead, they merely showed how political parties can take advantage of an opportunity to make someone a state legislator behind closed doors.

They met privately Wednesday night to choose a replacement for the District 3B seat in the Maryland House of Delegates vacated by Richard B. Weldon last month. The three finalists were Michael Hough, Charles A. Jenkins, and John R. Lovell, who had said he would act only as a placeholder until the election. The committee split along county lines, with Frederick Republicans selecting Hough and their Washington counterparts choosing Jenkins.

Hough, who works for the Washington, D.C.-based American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of state legislators, is the only person who has filed the paperwork to run for the seat in the November election. Jenkins is a Frederick County commissioner who has announced his intent to run for the District 3B seat, but has not filed the paperwork.

Weldon lives in Brunswick, and was elected as a Republican in 2002 to represent District 3B in the Maryland House of Delegates, which is why the Republicans are the ones who passed on the names to Gov. Martin O'Malley for approval. Weldon stepped down from his seat to become the executive assistant to Frederick Mayor Randy McClement (R) on Dec. 28.

State law requires that central committees forward a name to O'Malley, but it does not spell out a specific process that committees must follow to pick someone.

The interviews would be open if Weldon was elected as a Democrat, according to Robert Kresslein, chair of the Frederick County Democratic Central Committee. He said the committee must follow the provisions outlined by the Maryland Democratic Party, which mandates that interviews to fill the vacated seat of an elected official be open.

But the Republicans see it differently.

The Frederick County Republican Central Committee adopted procedures in November to choose a name to fill a vacancy, and one of the guidelines specifies that all meetings be closed to the public.

It mirrors the way the committee handled a similar appointment 25 years ago. In 1983, the committee picked Jack Derr to replace Ed Thomas in the Maryland Senate to represent District 3. Thomas died six months after winning re-election in 1982.

But following precedent doesn't necessarily make it right, and could even set up a second closed-door appointment process at the county level if the governor chooses Jenkins. Precedent can serve as a trustworthy guide to help deal with infrequent situations, but it can also chain down people to bad practices.

If this nation's government had continued to function based on precedent alone, voters would not directly elect members to the U.S. Senate, slavery would still exist and women would not be able to vote.

The District 3B appointment will have limited value given that the person will only serve out the fourth year of Weldon's four-year term, or essentially one session of the General Assembly.

But what if a vacancy occurs soon after the election and the appointed person serves a substantial part of the term? Partisan politics can, in theory, usurp the will of the voters.

That's no way to run a government. The best government is that which operates openly. Leaders should ask themselves why meetings or procedures should be closed, not why they should be open.