THE SAN FRANCISCO Board of Supervisors has a chance to promote significant reforms in the Ethics Commission this month when Mike Garcia's term expires. The supervisors shouldn't reappoint him and should extend the application period and aggressively recruit good, solid independent candidates who can transform the scandal-plagued panel into the effective watchdog the city so badly needs.

Garcia sided with former executive director Ginny Vida on a long list of issues that called into question the panel's ability to regulate political campaigns. He supported Vida when she reprimanded then-staffer Joe Lynn for the supposed crime of releasing public information about Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s election fraud. He supported Vida's decision to allow Kamala Harris to dodge spending limits in the district attorney's race. He went along with Vida's order to destroy a public document that raised questions about possible legal violations by Mayor Gavin Newsom's inaugural committee. He approved Sup. Tony Hall's move to thwart the City Charter and take over the Treasure Island Development Authority. As chair of the commission, he's overseen a panel that didn't aggressively fight budget cuts and kept too many enforcement actions behind closed doors.

The announcement posted Dec. 17 seeking applicants for the job was flawed and listed the wrong qualifications. By press time, Garcia was the only one applying for the post.

But that doesn't mean the board has to return him to office. The Rules Committee is scheduled to consider the appointment Jan. 12. It should keep the position open, better publicize the job, and look for candidates who would help shift the majority of the panel toward more aggressive enforcement of the laws.