Mayor John Holic and Venice City Council made a difficult decision this week in selecting an outsider as the next city attorney.

We have every reason to believe David Persson will give the city the same kind of excellent service he provided Longboat Key as its attorney for 22 years, but he doesn’t live or work in Venice. We’re used to the city attorney having a local office and being active in community events, as retiring City Attorney Bob Anderson has for years and years. His institutional knowledge will be missed; it remains to be seen whether his availability will be as well, though we were glad to hear that Persson plans to establish a local presence.