YORBA LINDA : Limit Considered on City Council Terms

The City Council has voted to consider an ordinance to limit council members to three consecutive terms, but some city officials doubt the legality of such a measure.

Councilman John M. Gullixson proposed the ordinance in response to the November passage of Proposition 140, which will limit the terms of California state legislators. Under Gullixson’s proposal, council members would be limited to three consecutive, four-year terms, starting in November, 1992.

The proposal would also allow council members to run for their seats again after a two-year absence, and current council members would begin counting their terms when they are next up for reelection.

“After 12 years, they need to leave office and get back among Joe Public so they can get in touch with the residents again,” Gullixson said after a meeting Tuesday, in which the City Council voted, 3 to 2, to consider the ordinance.

Gullixson added that he believes that after three terms, council members become out of touch with constituents and rely too heavily on city staff members and committees for expertise.

City Atty. Leonard Hampel said such an ordinance could be illegal, based upon court opinions on similar ordinances. Hampel will write a new report on the ordinance in time for the next council meeting, March 19, when the ordinance is scheduled to be discussed.

Council members Irwin M. Fried and Henry W. Wedaa, the longest-serving members of the council, voted against the ordinance. Both said it would be a waste of time to have the ordinance drawn up only to have Hampel tell them that it would be illegal.

“The city attorney told us that term limits are against the Constitution and therefore illegal,” Wedaa said after the meeting. “I believe in following the law.”

Wedaa added that cities with term limits have lost some top-quality people.

“I’ve seen too many cities lose good people, good representatives, because they have had term limits,” Wedaa said. “Good representatives are as good as gold.”

Still, most council members said they support a term limit.

“After you are there for a while, you can take a lot of things for granted,” Councilman Gene Wisner said. “. . . Twelve years is plenty.”