The position of Westmoreland County Elections Bureau Director is up for grabs again. Officially now.

It’s been almost three weeks since JoAnn Sebastiani was suspended with pay on June 8. Since then, the county commissioners have done little but confirm her absence while remaining tight-lipped on the reasoning. Until Tuesday, that is, when they announced the position of election bureau director was vacant.

But what about Sebastiani? Is she still suspended? Fired? Did she quit? Is she still working for the county in a different capacity? She receives taxpayer money. The taxpayers have a right to know.

Let’s set that aside, though. Instead, let’s take a look at what we do know.

“As a result of other election-related issues that arose previously and in the latest municipal primary, the county evaluated the election bureau and at this time will be seeking applicants for the director position, which became vacant as of June 19, 2021,” Westmoreland County Human Resources Director Alex Bevan wrote in a statement.

OK, so we know that the position was entirely empty for 10 days before the commissioners said so publicly. Not exactly transparent, especially after a similarly silent disappearance when previous director Beth Lechman resigned in August 2020.

We also know that there were “issues” with the May primary as well as some “previously.” Considering that Sebastiani has only ever worked on two elections, we can guess that the previous problems came in November 2020.

A consequential and contentious presidential race is some deep water to be thrown into with no experience. Sebastiani was moved into the position from the county tax office, where she was deputy director, and Commissioner Sean Kertes called her “a great asset.”

There is also the fact that the deputy elections director Scott Sistek, who had been interim director between Lechman and Sebastiani, was fired in October, leaving the office without experienced leadership going into the presidential election.

As there is zero information about what has happened with each of these departures other than the eventual announcement that someone has left a job vacant, there is little to look at other than the one thing that has remained constant. That is the people making the decisions.

Why does this incredibly important office keep having problems? The amount of turnover at the top in just one year is puzzling. What are the criteria and qualifications that the county is seeking in a director and how did they overlap with the tax office? How are the decisions about hiring and firing and whatever is in between happening?

And perhaps most important at this point, what have the commissioners learned over the last year that will make the next hire be more successful?

The ballot is a sacred trust between the people and the government. The county owes it to every Westmoreland resident to make sure the office is run smoothly, efficiently and responsibly.

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