Voters to Decide on Council Term Limits

The city’s voters will decide in November whether they want to impose term limits on council members.

Rather than the standard limit of two terms, current City Council members said they will propose three.

“They always tell you when you come on the council that it takes one year to learn the job,” said Councilman Jerry Sigler, who was elected to his first four-year term in 1995. “I knew that was wrong. It really takes two years.”

Mayor Patsy Marshall backed him up, saying that the council position is only a part-time job. Term limits have generally won voter approval, she said, to prevent public servants from becoming career politicians.

The council also decided to make the “break in service,” the time that must pass before a council member can run for another three terms, just one year. City Atty. James L. Markman had suggested making the break two years.

In the November elections, 85% of voters supported an advisory measure for term limits. The Legislature in January revised state law so that term limits may be imposed by general law cities such as Buena Park.

Several council members said they still feel that limits are unnecessary.

“I still contend that people can select council members at the ballot box,” Councilman Don Griffin said.

The council is scheduled to take formal action on the measure at its June 3 meeting.