Kansans and Wichitans have been selectively fond of setting term limits for some elected officials, with few second thoughts — though term-limited Wichita City Council member Paul Gray asserted early this year that “sometimes eight years is not enough.” According to the New York Times, communities across the country are seeking to roll back term limits. Voters in San Antonio, where Mayor Phil Hardberger has called term limits “an unmitigated disaster for the city,” will consider a proposal in November to extend rather than end them. He said: “When you keep putting people in, and throwing them out, there is very little accountability. We do a lot of churning here, but we don’t produce a lot of butter.” Term limits currently apply to 37 governors (including Kansas’ Kathleen Sebelius), 15 state legislatures and nine of the country’s 10 most populous cities.
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27 Comments
The best term limit device should be the ballot box.
Or be like Tiahrt and support term limits, run on a campaign issue about term limits, but disregard it once you get into office.
I wonder how many would actually ruin for office if they knew they couldn’t make a career of it?
Term limits must be continued to make elections equal between incumbents and challengers. Name indentification is difficult to over come in elections. No matter how bad the incumbent is, he/she will get a percentage of votes from voters who haven’t studied the candidates and issues.
Along with keeping term limits, length of terms should be reduced from four years to two years. Four years is way too long.
Elected office holders are often in it for the high pay for short hours.
The school board has it right … no pay … so they have to be in it to try to help young people and the schools.
Ruin=run Freudian slip perhaps
We already have term limits…they are called elections. While incumbency in local and state elections can give an advantage, it is not an insurmountable one.
It is a powerful advantage for the US Congress, tho. Interesting that Congress initiated the Amendment limiting terms for the President, but did not include themselves.
We have term limits here in California for the Governor and Legislature only. It hasn’t caused any problems as the doom and gloom merchants predicted. It may subvert the will of the voters somewhat to keep an elected official from running due to term limits. The citizens need to decide do they want lifetime politicians or citizens serving a specified term and going back to lives and jobs. The later suggests that you get a more in-touch group of representatives. If that holds true I see no evidence of it here. Term limits were court tested in California and withstood the challenge
Good Morning everyone from the west coast. The suns not yet up here but it’s going to be a beautiful day here. Im fortifing myself with coffee before my morning bike ride
If proper spelling is a concern which it isn’t for me (I speak typo well) you can download the Google toolbar that has a very good spell checker on it. You can spell check blog submissions and any other web application. Now…If I would just use it more.
Terry…I lived in CA when term limits were established. It was, if I remember correctly, a backlash to Willie Brown’s reign…the speaker who pretty much ran the state but without a state wide election.
It is a shame that many decent and hard working legislators have been ‘termed out’. I can only speak for Assembly District 37, since I lived there for 20 years. Rod Pacheco is now DA for Riverside County, for example. Good man, hard working decent legislator who was forced out because of arbitrary limits.
You are correct Raptor it was aimed at Willie brown.
Where in CA do you live?
Sacramento
It pains me to agree with Paul Gray about anything but I do agree with extending term limits. When we limit elected officials we strengthen staffs voice.
It is staff we mostly deal with in the course of government and understanding and changing their conduct is challenging. It takes several years to grasp the complexities of city business and then to understand what and how you can change things to reflect our citizens needs and views. A person becomes most effective around 6 years in office. Staff just has to wait until a new person is elected and continue their course.
I would favor three four year terms.
As with most CON rhetoric, “Term Limits” is shallow politicking.
What did Todd Tiahrt “promise” when he was elected? That he’d serve only four or six terms, “…in the spirit of the ‘Contract
on</strike with America’”?As slimy as Sam (the Sham) Brownback is, he at least promised he’d retire from the Senate after two terms.*
* Although I’ll believe it when I see it. I can imagine a scenario that, faced with the prospect of a Senator Sebelius, the Republic Party will trump up an astroturf campaign to “draft” him for a re-election run.
It started after FDR and Harry Truman handed the RepublicCONs their butts five elections in a row. And, as with most CON schemes, the Republic Party bemoaned they couldn’t run the Gipper as president-for-life.
I dont think sebelius has a snowball’s chance in hell of beating Moran. She wins against wingnuts, and jerry, rightly or wrongly, doesnt carry that stink.
And the repukes are drooling over the prospect of a governor brownback.
Kansas… as dumb as you think….
Oops.
Way to proofread, “Monkeyhawk.”
Leave it to some people to try to make this a partisan issue..when people from both parties have supported/lambasted this issue for years.
To get more on topic, four more years of Sharon Fearey.
Hell, no.
I have been regularly attending city council meetings for the past decade. Sharon Fearey has been the only councilmember who has been able to call staff to task from her very first meeting. She does get more city attention for her district than the others and that’s because she treats her position as a full time job with overtime. She’s caused the rest of the council to spend more time on the job.
I would accept four more years of Paul Gray’s special interest for builders, if we could have another four years of Fearey’s watchdog heavy work standard. But extended term limits would not apply to current office holders.
When I think term limits I think Todd Tiahrt, and Sen. Roberts. Way overdue.
Lonny,
The question I have about Ms. Fearey and her relationships with city staff is, who has who wrapped around whose finger?
I won’t rest until we’re rid of the GOBN at City Hall. Sharon Fearey is the biggest defender of this cabal.
I like term limits and sure wish we had them on our congress. The so called Presidents of Venezuela and Bolivia wants no term limits, and want to be elected for life.
So I guess we have a choice- do we want amateur politicians, or professional politicians?
Mr. Controversy,
I think Fearey is much more accepted by staff than she was when she started six years ago. She was always asking/demanding more information. she is the one that said she wanted issues going to her DAB before going to the council. Staff is now used to going to all the DAB’s and explaining positions before they go to council.
I think most of the GOBN are gone from when Chris cherches and Ray Trail left. Expect for in Finance and some city manager employees. Who have seen you either change or go. Certainly Public Works, economic development and some of OCI have changed.
But Rebenstorf and Holderman are still there.
WHY?
True. But Gary works for the city manager instead of the council. At the county Rich Euson works for the commission instead of the manager. This is a major difference that does cause disappointment with City Legal partly because of their duties from the management structure. Cathy is still there but she’s not in charge. She provides a lot of continuity and knows that city management style is different now than under Cherches. Who did save us a lot of money every year through efficiencies. Today we want a more open and accessible city government.