Al French had it right Monday evening when he reminded fellow members of the Spokane City Council that they were focusing their worry on the wrong concern.

The issue under consideration was the selection of a new colleague to replace former Councilwoman Mary Verner, now elevated to mayor. A prolonged and sometimes confused conversation about deadlines and procedures kept wandering back to the question of whether would-be council members would have enough time to consult with family, friends and employers and to prepare their applications.

If there’s a segment of the process that truly requires time, French noted, it’s the stage at which the council members themselves study the pool, evaluate them and make the choice the city will have to live with for the next two years.

Indeed.

It was known as early as last summer, when Verner made her mayoral candidacy known, that there was at least the possibility of a vacancy. And within a couple of days of the Nov. 6 election, there was no longer a question. Serious applicants in Council District 2 had plenty of time for pondering and consulting to be ready to start filling out application forms at once.

Nevertheless, the council gave them until 3 p.m. Dec. 7 to do so. At that point, though, the council itself will have only a week to consider the field, winnow it down to a select group, and hold public interviews on Dec. 14. They think they could be ready to make the selection as early as three days later, at the regular council meeting on Dec. 17.

What’s the rush?

For one thing, at least prospectively, a full complement of seven council votes would be a hedge against the chance of a 3-3 deadlock on the 2008 city budget which has to be adopted before year’s end. But do we really want an unseasoned and untested council member to walk in the door and cast the tie-breaking vote on probably the weightiest council decision of the year?

No thanks. We’d prefer a thorough, thoughtful and confident final selection.

In 2003, when Dennis Hession was elected council president (he remained on the council until being sworn in on Jan. 3), the council received some 27 applications. In 2006, after Councilman Joe Shogan was elevated to council president, they got 19.

Screening and assessing so many candidates demands more than a cursory process. After the 2003 election, it was March 2004 before Mary Verner was sworn in as Hession’s successor. The council needs to take the time it needs to make as sound a choice this time.