Whether Nashua Police Commissioner Tom Pappas acted improperly when he intervened with police on behalf of state Rep. David Campbell after the latter hit and killed five ducks at the Crowne Plaza Hotel last month is something the attorney general will decide.

If Pappas was wrong, the question of whether he should be removed from the commission will be answered by Gov. Maggie Hassan. State law leaves it to the governor to make the appointments to the commission and she can remove commissioners as well, if she sees fit.

By asking the AG to investigate, the ++++governor appears to be seeking political cover for a decision she no doubt would rather not have to make. She appears to be stalling and indecisive. She might have bought herself a little time and perhaps more information and perspective, but she’s going to have to make a decision.

Unfortunately, the current arrangement points out the major flaw in the present system – which is that Nashuans are cut out of the process entirely. All they can do is stand by, speculate and gossip, write letters to the newspaper and maybe – if they feel strongly about whether it was proper for the police commissioner to call the police department to help a friend out of a jam – ring up the governor’s office and register their opinion.

Nashua residents have virtually no influence over the actions of their police commission, and it’s hard to see how commissioners could possibly feel accountable to residents under those circumstances.

We think it’s worth discussing whether the current setup should be swapped out for one that gives the people who pay the bills a greater voice and a greater level of accountability.

There are a couple of models that could probably work. One would eliminate a police commission altogether and simply put the police department under the supervision of the mayor’s office, like any other city department. That means Mayor Donnalee Lozeau and Police Chief John Seusing would really have to play nice, which would be a good thing. It also would put a greater burden on the Board of Aldermen to exercise greater oversight of the police budget, which would also be a good thing.

As is now evident, the police commission model creates its own brand of political intrigue that is not always in synch with the public’s best interests, but that may not, in and of itself, be reason enough to scrap the system in haste.

It’s worth bearing in mind that commissions were created to shield police from political influence and having governors make the appointments was seen as a way to also insulate the commissioners from the whims of local politics.

But the Pappas situation also demonstrates the shortcoming of the current setup – it insulates commissioners from the people they’re supposed to serve and who might, given the opportunity, hold them accountable for serious miscalculations of judgment or abuse of office.

There is no mechanism for that to happen now. Electing police commissioners wouldn’t be a perfect system, but it would take the public off the sidelines and provide them with a way to hold commissioners accountable in those instances where they think it necessary.

It is a fundamental principle of our Republic that we want to encourage people to be involved and to take an interest in government. The way the commission is presently constituted runs counter to that. That alone is reason enough to change it, but not the only reason.

Making the Nashua Police Commission an elected body would also provide an opportunity for city residents to spell out, in a clear way, exactly what they expect of commissioners, including their duties and the ethical frameworks under which we expect them to operate.

Commissioner Pappas has clammed up since making an initial statement about his role in the Campbell affair, and he refused to answer questions about the matter during a police commission meeting this week. The less he says about the matter, the more the questions seem to pile up.

We doubt he would be nearly as dismissive if he knew he had to face voters in an upcoming election.

This would be a good time for a bipartisan coalition of Nashua legislators to start the ball rolling to change the police commission into an elected body.

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