Now that Rep. Anthony Weiner is officially out of office, an intriguing mix of candidates is eyeing his 9th Congressional District seat.

On the Democratic side, which clearly has the edge, they range from Assemblyman David Weprin of Little Neck to Councilman Jim Gennaro of Fresh Meadows, and from City Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. of Astoria to former Councilwoman Melinda Katz of Forest Hills. And that's not all of them.

On the Republican side, Councilman Eric Ulrich of Ozone Park and retired businessman Bob Turner of the Rockaways, Weiner's last opponent, have both expressed some interest.

No one on either side has said for sure that he or she is running.

But the big question is whether they all will even get the chance to run. That's because if Gov. Andrew Cuomo doesn't call the special election needed to fill the seat soon enough, there won't be time for any primaries. Instead, under the law, the leaders of both parties will just pick the candidates.

That would diminish our democracy. It should be the people, not the parties, who choose their nominees – just as it was 13 years ago when Weiner first won the seat, beating out four other Democrats (including, incidentally, Katz).

That's much better than, for example, what happened when David Weprin won his Assembly seat, vacating the City Council seat that his brother then ran for. Of the four Democratic leaders who chose Mark Weprin to run, two were – you guessed it – Mark and David Weprin.

In this case the Democratic Party chairmen who would call the shots are Rep. Joe Crowley for Queens and Assemblyman Vito Lopez for Brooklyn. On the GOP side, it would be Phil Ragusa for Queens and Craig Eaton for Brooklyn.

Cuomo can fulfill his duty to the Constitution's letter and intent – maximizing the power of the people – by allowing primaries on Sept. 13 and a general election on Nov. 8. It's what our system calls for, what the people deserve, and a good way to begin to restore honor to the seat.