— West Virginians are in the midst of electing a governor to serve for one year.

Due to our state’s antiquated election laws, and a unique situation triggered by the death of U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd in 2010, followed by the subsequent special election to choose his successor — who turned out to be then-Gov. Joe Manchin — the state has been functioning with an acting governor for the past 10-plus months.

We still believe Earl Ray Tomblin should be able to serve out the term that expires next year but again, the Supreme Court’s interpretation of our state law says that can’t happen.

Our Legislature needs to fix that outdated part of the code, even though a similar situation might not ever happen again. Between the May primary election and the Oct. 4 special general election, more than $10 million in taxpayer dollars will have been wasted, in our opinion.

We hope lawmakers get on it sooner rather than later.

So now we have a choice to make — who will serve us best as governor?

Morgantown businessman and Republican nominee Bill Maloney burst onto the political scene earlier this year and while many pundits didn’t give him a chance to defeat former Secretary of State Betty Ireland for the GOP nod, he did.

Maloney has worked hard to be a success in private business and he’s made plenty of people think about the issues, supporting his desire to run West Virginia more like a business than a government.

But we have a real concern — if elected, would he be able to work effectively with the current setup in the Senate and House? You can talk about change, but being able to effect it is entirely another thing.

As for Tomblin, he has been serving as a legislator in the Mountain State for more than three decades. He’s seen the stable, productive times and he also was around when West Virginia was essentially bankrupt.

However, especially during the last six years, our elected leaders have governed in such a fashion that our state really is in good fiscal shape. Many of our mounting debts have been retired or addressed, spending is under control and the Mountain State’s economy is one of the soundest in the country at this time.

Make no mistake, we still face plenty of problems. But Tomblin’s leadership as Senate president had much to do with helping the Manchin administration put West Virginia on the right path.

Tomblin isn’t flashy or boisterous; he leads with a calm, consensus-building approach that is respected and carries plenty of merit.

We believe his thinking is sound and that he has what’s best for us at the forefront of his agenda.

West Virginia is headed in the right direction and Tomblin is the best choice to keep the state on the sturdy, progressive track it is on.