Del Valle for city clerk

The office of city clerk has never seemed very useful. It has been just the opposite in fact, serving as a sinkhole of corruption under two previous clerks. Such are its problems that the office seemed ripe for abolition as an elective post. Now, however, Miguel del Valle, a former legislator with reformist credentials, has been appointed clerk by Mayor Daley and is offering ideas to revive the office that show he deserves election to a four-year term.

Until his appointment last fall, del Valle had served in the state Senate since 1987, emerging as an influential legislator on educational issues and becoming the first Latino to be assistant majority leader. Daley said he intends to rely on del Valle for advice on schools, a sound move. Upon assuming his new post, del Valle made the refreshing decision that he didn't need bodyguards.

He promises to use the clerk's office to focus sunshine on the operations of city government. To that end, among his goals: creating a searchable Web site for city laws, establishing an online record of proposed ordinances and votes, and Webcasting -- and later telecasting on local cable -- City Council meetings.

Those are themes also sounded by challenger Jose Cerda III, a former policy adviser to Daley and President Bill Clinton. He is certainly a very credible candidate but we go with del Valle's experience. Diane Jones also is on the ballot.