Term Limits Measure on Hold in O.C.

Just three weeks after putting it on the November ballot, Orange County supervisors voted Tuesday to withdraw a proposal that would have extended their term limits four years.

The proposal was part of a burgeoning movement by politicians in Los Angeles and Sacramento to ease restrictions voters imposed in the 1990s on how long they may serve in office. But that effort may be faltering before it even gains momentum. Supervisors said Tuesday that a hoped-for deal in the Capitol to ease term limits for state officeholders in exchange for reforming legislative boundary design appeared stalled as well.

Without it, Supervisor Chris Norby said, he was reluctant to put forward Orange County’s version. He asked that it be withdrawn indefinitely, with the hope that it would be paired with a statewide measure in 2008.

“My hope was that the state Legislature would do this statewide,” he said. “It’s now clear the Legislature will not do this.”

In the wake of Orange County’s bankruptcy, voters adopted term limits in 1996 by nearly 4 to 1, restricting supervisors to two four-year terms. The limits remain popular with voters, who have spurned most attempts to amend them elsewhere.

This month, the board voted 4 to 1 to put the measure on the ballot. It generated ardent opposition, including ballot arguments from two candidates for one supervisorial seat.