EDITORIAL:

One year is enough.

And that’s no slam on Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich. In fact, we feel he’s done a commendable job.

But rumors are swirling that council members are angling to forgo the usual process and appoint Selich to a second consecutive year as mayor, thus bypassing the next in line: Leslie Daigle.

Mind you, it’s just a lot of murmuring at this point — very few details and no explanation as to why the council would move in this direction. But the murmurs are loud and consistent enough to warrant a word or two on our part.

Unless there is a compelling and dramatic reason to keep her in her place, so to speak, Daigle should be the next mayor of Newport Beach.

Whether you agree or disagree with her positions, this much is clear: She’s smart, dedicated and hard working. And she’d do a fine job representing the city.

Which is a good chunk of what the job entails.

In other words, the mayor is the face of the city. Think ribbon cuttings, glad-handing and speech-making. We think Daigle would do a superb job at all of these.

But there’s more. The mayor has to, as they say, make the trains run on time, which is another way of saying that the mayor must make meetings run as smoothly as possible.

That means striking a balance between timeliness and allowing enough information — sunshine, if you will — in as possible. It also means knowing the laws of governance.

Again, we believe Daigle is up to the task.

And we believe the procedure that calls for one mayor for one year should not be disrupted for political reasons.