Two weeks ago Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced she would be resigning her position mid-term this coming April, basically stating old age had gotten the best of her.

Well, it might be time to hit the bingo table a little earlier then anticipated.

According to Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board, if Falk were to stay in office until mid-April as planned, Wisconsin would not be able to hold an election for County Executive along with the normal slate of elections scheduled for that month. Unless Falk steps down by Dec. 28 – seven weeks before the spring election – the Dane County Executive election would have to be moved back towards summer and held as its own special election.

This costs money and potential voters.

Setting up elections is expensive. Holding another election a month or two outside of April is the very definition of superfluous. Voter turnout in America is already a struggle; what will the attendance be like for a solitary election during an unusual time?

State laws can make quitting early tricky like that.

If Falk were to officially step down by Dec. 28, her position would be occupied by current County Board chairman Scott McDonell. One progressive Democrat in, one progressive Democrat out. Falk and McDonell think enough alike that there would be no major paradigm shift in the three months before the election took place, so there should be no issues in the transition.

As this board has previously stated, Falk’s decision to run for re-election in 2009 makes little sense. She knew she was turning 60-years-old, so four busy years shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Still, now that it’s clear that staying around would do more harm than good, it is time to bust out the crochet magazines a few months early. McDonell can handle it from here; you just enjoy your Canasta games.