That was our first reaction on hearing that Pat O'Brien, who's done a bang-up job in only a couple of terms as Pulaski County's circuit and county clerk, is planning to run for statewide office next year, namely secretary of state. Not that we'd ever criticize anybody for wanting to better himself, but dawgone he's going to be missed by voters of the state's largest county.
Mr. O'Brien has taken a perpetual nightmare, biennial trainwreck, nest of political intrigue, recurring embarrassment, and in general a source of general incompetence and inconvenience to the voters-and turned his office into a model operation and point of pride. You bet the voting public he's served so well will miss him.
Pat O'Brien's dedication, choice of personnel, sense of responsibility, and familiarity with the latest technology have made life so much easier for local voters. And now he's proposing to take all those qualities and apply them to the secretary of state's office. Lucky voters of Arkansas.
But it's not going to be easy to share his talents; Pulaski County's voters have gotten spoiled. Surely other candidates for the job have records to brag about, too, but Mr. O'Brien's is outstanding. Which is why our first reaction to the news that Pulaski County will be losing his services reduced us to . . . Aw shucks.

This article was published on page 18 of the Saturday, May 30, 2009 edition in the Editorial section.