Schabarum Seeks Two-Term Limit for County Supervisors : Politics: He will ask a state legislator to carry the enabling legislation. He is undecided about running for a fifth term himself.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum called Tuesday for state legislation limiting county supervisors to serving two four-year terms, but he said he is still undecided about whether to seek reelection to a fifth term in June.

Schabarum said his proposal, which requires approval of the state Legislature, would not immediately create an entirely new county board. The five incumbents, whose tenures range from 10 to 38 years, would be allowed to serve two more terms after any limit went into effect.

Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who has served a record 10 terms on the board, said the proposal is “foolish.”

“If the people want to get rid of a supervisor, there is a way to do it--at election time,” he said. Schabarum’s proposal would cause supervisors to be less attentive to their districts during their second and last term, Hahn said.

Although supervisors delayed a vote on Schabarum’s proposal for one week, all four of his fellow board members said they opposed it. Schabarum said he will try to find a legislator to introduce the enabling bill, with or without his colleagues’ support. A county counsel’s legal opinion says the supervisors do not have the power to impose limits on their own terms.

“Career politicians become representative of the bureaucracy, rather than of the people whom they are elected to represent,” Schabarum said at a County Hall of Administration press conference.

“The electoral system has become less free, less competitive and less representative due to increased concentration of political power in the hands of incumbent lawmakers,” he added.

Asked why he doesn’t retire this year if he believes two terms are enough, Schabarum told reporters, “Because you would probably miss my non-presence here and, therefore, I would not have a chance to joust with you.”

With only 10 days left before the filing deadline, Schabarum, 61, said he is undecided about whether to seek reelection to a fifth term in his 1st District, which takes in most of the San Gabriel Valley. Schabarum was appointed to the board in 1972 by then Gov. Ronald Reagan.

He said that he is awaiting the outcome of a trial on the county’s voting rights trial, which could place him in a new, predominantly Latino district.

The U.S. Justice Department, one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging that the supervisors’ district boundaries discriminate against Latinos, has asked a federal judge to delay the June election pending the outcome of the trial. The plaintiffs want any new redistricting plan to apply in the next election. Supervisor Ed Edelman, the only other supervisor up for reelection in June, has announced his intention to seek another term.

Asked if the trial was the only reason for his indecision, Schabarum said, “not by a long shot.” He declined to cite other reasons, saying, “Those are things that are relevant to me and not to others at this point in time.”

Schabarum is leading a separate campaign to qualify an initiative for the November ballot limiting the terms of state officeholders. A citizens’ group is also conducting a drive to limit the terms of Los Angeles city officials to two four-year terms.