Every one of us is an artist, and as an artist, you really can stroll into any venue that you want, as long as you take your time to learn the etiquette of that venue.
It's basically a home-rule issue. I think the governing authority that appoints people as assessors certainly has reasons for doing it. . . . And it certainly ought to be the board of assessors' right to say who is best qualified to serve as an appraiser.