San Bernardino County needs supervisors who can bring a more professional approach to county government and adhere to a higher standard of ethics. The corruption scandals of the late 1990s are over, but the county still falls short of the model government that a fast-developing region requires.

Filling that governance deficit will take more than a single election, of course. But voters can make a start in June by electing the candidates who offer the best hope of improving the county's standard of government: Neil Derry and Brad Mitzelfelt.

Derry, a San Bernardino City Councilman, faces incumbent Dennis Hansberger in the 3rd District. Ousting a supervisor who has been on the board since 1996 and served two terms in the 1970s is not an easy choice. But real change in San Bernardino County government is unlikely to come from an insider who by now has served a total of 24 years on the board.

Hansberger has a respectable record of opposing the corrupt actions of county officials over the past decade. But he also has shown instances of ethical blindness, such as voting to hand millions of dollars in county contracts to an agency headed by his then-girlfriend in the 1990s -- at the same time the county wrestled with corruption scandals.

Such actions are typical of the lax approach to ethics and administrative procedure that San Bernardino County government has tolerated for too long. Avoiding criminal activity, or even opposing it, is not equivalent to proper official behavior.

Derry, for example, proposes creating a county ethics commission to hold officials to high standards. Hansberger claims that government ethics "isn't something that gets fixed and stays fixed" and says the news media have the job of holding elected officials accountable -- as if the county has no real responsibility on its own for requiring ethical standards.

Derry can bring professional management skills and a tougher ethical outlook to the board. He understands the need for the county to finally charge fees on new development to cover the cost of roads, facilities and services -- a step Riverside County took four years ago. He sensibly argues that the county needs to do more to attract jobs to the region, which can help ease commuting traffic.

He also sees the need to change the county's often haphazard approach to planning. Derry points to Riverside County's integrated plan as a useful model. That plan, which took effect in 2004, offers a comprehensive way to balance infrastructure needs and habitat conservation. Support for that approach would well-serve a board that long has stalled efforts preserve habitat and levy development fees.

Derry, however, lists better pay for county employees among his top priorities -- a strange issue to raise during a time of economic slowdown and falling tax receipts. And he has heavy support from police and firefighter unions, which makes his salary proposal look like political pandering.

He will need to demonstrate his independence from public employee unions, county political insiders and other special interests to show voters he is serious about ethics. Even so, he offers a better chance for improved government than a longtime county incumbent.

In the 1st District, Brad Mitzelfelt is clearly the most qualified candidate. Mitzelfelt replaced his former boss, Bill Postmus, in 2007 when Postmus became assessor, and now seeks election on his own. Mitzelfelt points to the board's posting of officials' financial statements online and efforts to expand the county jail during his time in office.

He will need to step up his performance, however, for a full term, and distinguish himself on the crucial issues facing his district. He will have to go beyond trying to give senior citizens a tax break to move into the county and promoting GPS monitoring of gang members. Such politically-minded stunts echo Postmus' approach, when Mitzelfelt needs to show independence from his former boss.

Mitzelfelt could start by finding ways to improve county services for the far-flung regions of his high desert district. Residents there often feel overshadowed by the more populous parts of the county. The desert areas lack suitable trauma care, for example. The county's main emergency rooms are across the mountains, leaving desert residents with a long journey in a crisis.

And Mitzelfelt should push hard for fees on development to pay for infrastructure and services, which would make a good start on improving high desert communities. Ensuring that those areas have sufficient roads, fire protection and other public services is a challenge that falls directly on the 1st District supervisor.

In fairness, Mitzelfelt has had barely 16 months on the job. He is the best choice for the district, but will only be successful if he builds a stronger record than he has managed so far.