The Kissimmee Commission Tuesday night took the right step in deciding to let city voters choose in the next election who will fill seat 2 on the commission following Carlos Irizarry’s suspension from office Friday by Gov. Charlie Crist.

Rather than let voters decide, the commission could have filled the office by appointment. However, given the short time until the Aug. 24 election and the time it would take to interview potential appointees to the office, commissioners made the best choice possible.

Irizarry’s arrest last week Thursday for allegedly pointing a handgun at his estranged wife at a private school in Orange County was an embarrassment to the commissioner’s family, the city and to all the voters – white, black, Hispanic or any other – who helped make him the first Hispanic elected to the commission. While we didn’t always agree with the commissioner on his votes on various issues, we believe he always had his constituents’ best interests at heart.

While Irizarry was suspended from office, he was not barred from running in the election and, according to the latest information we have, will continue to be a candidate. While we believe Irizarry should withdraw now from the race, we also can respect his choice to stay in if he believes his case would be resolved before the city election.

If Irizarry is found innocent eventually in a jury trial or the felony charge against him is dropped or the charge is reduced to a misdemeanor after the election, then he could run again later for the commission, if he is so inclined. Voters, we would hope, would remember his service to the city.

Missteps by one candidate – in this case, the incumbent – always opens up opportunities to others. If Irizarry were to withdraw from the race, then John Cortes and Wanda Rentas would be the two remaining candidates and one of them would be elected outright Aug. 24. Cortes, who recently dropped out of the Osceola County School Board race to make a bid for a commission seat, has run for city office before; Rentas is a political newcomer.

There also is still time for additional candidates to come forward and file for the office, since the qualifying period begins June 14 and ends June 18. While there isn’t a lot of time to collect signatures for petitions, it’s not impossible. Plus, a candidate could put up the money in lieu of signatures in order to run.