We agree with state Assembly Republican Leader James Tedisco that a special election is the proper way to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Tedisco on Tuesday unveiled a bill that would require such an election, rather than the way it's done now, by gubernatorial appointment.

The U.S. Constitution allows governors to make Senate appointments when the need arises, but states are also free to come up with their own replacement processes, as Minnesota and Connecticut have sought to do and several other states already have done.

Anyone recently interested in filling Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat had but one person to convince: Gov. David Paterson.

That's just too much power to put in the hands of a single person.

Anyone desiring to serve the people of the state should actively campaign for the chance, not meet in secret with the one person who will make the decision.

The accusation that the governor of Illinois all but put his appointment on the open market this year certainly underscores the potential that the best person might not always be picked for the job.

And while Paterson hasn't been accused of anything nefarious during his selection process, his refusal to share the contents of questionnaires filled out by Senate hopefuls may very well be a violation of state laws regarding open government.

We agree with Tedisco's argument that just because the governor has the power to do something doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do.

And while we realize that it's easy for a Republican to bring up the issue at this point, we hope that there will be a few brave Democrats in Albany who will stand up to support this bill. After all, the state may very well have a Republican governor in office the next time a vacancy arises, and the bottom line is that an election is the most democratic way to proceed.