Ferriday &8212; If the people of Ferriday want to elect their chief of police in the 2008 election, they will need to speak more loudly than it did on Tuesday.

A public hearing to gauge interest in changing the position from appointed to elected turned up no voices either for or against Tuesday night.

The silence spoke volumes to Ferriday Mayor Gene Allen.

&8220;At the last (November) meeting, we said we&8217;d have a public hearing and nobody came,&8221; he said. &8220;People must not be too interested.&8221;

Mayor pro tem Jerome Harris said he disagrees.

&8220;No one spoke against it, so it doesn&8217;t make it a negative,&8221; he said.

&8220;I think its time for the chief of police to be elected so he can serve the people and not the mayor and the board of alderman.&8221;

The thinking behind the push to have an elected chief holds that an elected official would be his or her own boss and not take orders from city hall.

Vidalia Police Chief Billy Hammers said, as an elected official, he has the freedom to run the department as he thinks best and only has to think about politics every four years.

&8220;Sometimes it&8217;s hard because you can&8217;t make everybody happy, but you&8217;ve got to try to do the best you can,&8221; Hammers said.

If the town wants to change the position of police chief to an elected one, it has several options under Louisiana law.

The first would be for Allen and the town council to request the state legislature to introduce local legislation making the change.

Or, the town can handle it own their own a special election.

Gathering a petition signed by 25 percent of the town&8217;s eligible voters would force an election to determine whether the position should become an elected one.

Or, they can hold the election with the passage of an ordinance by the board of aldermen.

The only catch is that passage of the ordinance would require a two-thirds majority, or four out of five votes. Other ordinances require a simple majority.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State&8217;s office, 232 of the state&8217;s 313 incorporated municipalities elect their chiefs of police.

Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Monroe, Alexandria and Lake Charles all have appointed chiefs.

John Gallagher, a lawyer with the Louisiana Municipal Association, said if Ferriday were to decide to have a special election, the town could choose the date of the election and set a date for the switch.

Three municipalities have held special elections to change the chief position to an appointed one, two succeeded.

Gallagher said no town has sought to change from appointed to elected.

Harris said he will continue his efforts in next month&8217;s meeting.

&8220;I&8217;m planning on asking the board to go along with a resolution to have an elected police chief on the ballot 2008,&8221; Harris said. &8220;I&8217;m asking the people of the community for their support.&8221;