Voters to Decide on City Term Limits

A proposal to set term limits for City Council members will be on the November ballot, with voters deciding whether incumbents should be restricted to a pair of four-year terms.

The measure, approved by the City Council this week, would require former council members to take a two-year hiatus before seeking local office again.

“Bottom line is that we all believe that [term limits] should be out there for the public to make a decision,” Mayor Patricia C. Bates said. “People will have a chance to make a decision on their own.”

The council rejected an alternative proposed by resident Bill Wood that would have allowed incumbents to seek a third term as write-in candidates.

City Atty. Terry Dixon told the council that Wood’s option would probably violate the state election code. All candidates who pay a filing fee are allowed to have their names on the ballot, according to the law, Dixon said.

Said Bates: “There is no point in putting in something that could be legally challenged and wind up with a law that will be impotent.”