The duties of legal counsel are very clear, very specialized, and require certain licensing.  While we have many fine attorneys in Josephine County, very few are experts in municipal law.  An elected legal counsel would have to be a resident of Josephine County not only at the time of their election, but for a designated time before and during the entire duration of their term.  This severely limits the pool of qualified candidates. Having an appointed legal counsel allows the county to search as wide as necessary to find the best person for the position.  When presented with complex legal issues, the attorney should be the best available, not the most popular.