Judicial Selections (it's back)

As our post on the Hampton J&DR pointed out, the failure of our elected officials to do their jobs can create issues for the courts in some local jurisdictions. We have posted several times on the good, bad, and ugly of Virginia's judicial selection process, but also have maintained that the current system is better than electing our judges. Some Virginia newspapers, like the Virginian Pilot have identified problems, but only have provided vague bromides for solutions.
Add the Daily Press to that list. In a recent editorial, the DP argued that "Virginia could do better" in appointing judges, why "look no further than the city of Hampton where a juvenile and domestic court judgeship remains unfilled at the end of this year's General Assembly session." Sorry, but that's not "proof" Virginia can do better, that's just "evidence" that we have some problems with our current system. Later, after acknowledging that electing judges "would be an awful approach," the DP offers its remedy for success: "There are plenty of alternative ways to appoint judges. For starters, Virginia should move to a system that does not allow a disagreement between two people to cause such a mess." Well, let's get on it then, problem solved!