The law, HB491, passed unanimously in both houses of the Utah Legislature last session after appointments of new mayors in Orem and South Jordan in closed meetings of the respective city councils. Each city had a vacancy in the mayor’s office — in Orem a consequence of the death of Jerry Washburn. The secrecy was inappropriate since a midterm appointment by a city council is merely a convenient substitute for an election. In an election, candidates for office are subject to public scrutiny, and they should be when applying for a vacancy, too.

Secret deliberations have long been justified in Utah under a law that says the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of a person are private. But that law is aimed at job performance of employees, not at offices that would have been elected by the people.

HB491 recognizes that an appointment to a normally elected office should be a public process, just like an election is public. It provides that a public body may not, in a closed meeting, interview candidates; may not discuss their character, professional competence, or physical or mental health; or otherwise discuss filling the vacancy.

So Thursday represents a historical moment of sorts, a changing of the tide in Utah, if only in a small way. The Cedar Hills City Council will interview nine candidates for mayor — in the open — and then vote for one. Residents will be watching.