Is It Time For Term Limits In Rancho Santa Margarita?

On Wednesday, September 14, the Rancho Santa Margarita city council will consider sponsoring a ballot measure which would establish limitations on the number of terms a member of the city council may serve. Given the unavoidable costs to the city and the legal significance of such a ballot measure, a brief analysis of the issue is worthwhile. 

Due to a deep dissatisfaction with the legislature in Sacramento (sound familiar?), voters in 1990 passed Proposition 140, which placed term limits on the State Assembly and State Senate, with the intent of forcing out career politicians and to introduce new leadership to the state. Truth be told, it was an attempt by conservatives to break the stranglehold on power held by the Democrats, specifically Speaker Willie Brown. So now that those born in 1990 are old enough to legally buy a drink at their favorite local watering hole, how has term limits legislation affected this state? 

In November of 2004, the Public Policy Institute of California analyzed term limits in California, based in part on the work of Bruce E. Cain and Thad Kousse, Adapting to Term Limits: Recent Experiences and New Directions (2004). The authors determined that while the intent of term limits might be admirable, the effect of term limits legislation had been undeniably harmful. Specifically, it was noted that term limits had failed to create “citizen legislators” and had not affected the number of career politicians rotating through Sacramento.

In addition, after referring to term limits in California as “a disaster”, and referring to the lack of experience of incoming legislators, columnist Erza Klein of the Washington Post authored an article entitled "The Folly of Term Limits" (Jan. 4. 2010).  Mr. Klein stated:

 “The product of this verges on the comical. As a California budget-watcher pointed out to me, when you get Arnold Schwarzenegger in a room with the leadership of the Senate and Assembly, Schwarzenegger has the most budget and legislative experience in the room. A guy who was starring in Terminator films as recently as 2003 is now the most seasoned elected official during one of the worst crises California has ever had. Term limits are one of those ideas that sound good in theory but are madness in practice. You wouldn’t want to go to a hospital filled with medical residents or stock a sports team with an ever-changing cast of rookies. Legislating is hard. We need to give people time to learn how to do it.“ 

Locally, I question the need for a ballot measure mandating term limits in Rancho Santa Margarita. Like any job, it often takes years to reach a level of excellence. Our city currently maintains a general operating revenue fund of approximately $15 million, with special revenue funds of roughly $3 million. Revenue sources include sales tax, property tax, property taxes in lieu of vehicle licensing fees, franchise fees, property taxes in lieu of sales taxes, etc. Why do we need a city ordinance mandating that those with the most experience in formulating a complicated budget and conducting the business of the people be precluded from serving the city for more than one or two terms?

Term limits would require the electorate to replace an experienced council member with a less experienced candidate. Indeed, term limits would not even allow for the electorate to vote for a write-in candidate who happens to be an incumbent. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not an advocate for the reelection of incumbents for the sake of reelecting incumbents. I just don’t believe that a term limits ordinance should mandate that a sitting council member not be allowed to run for office, even when it is clear that such an individual might be the most qualified candidate for the position, and even though that individual might indeed receive enough votes for reelection.

We have term limits. These limits are currently imposed by the voting public every time we step into a voting booth. Like most voters, I like to think that before I vote, I have taken the time to become knowledgeable regarding the issues and the candidates. Term limits precludes the opportunity for the knowledgeable voter to vote for his or her preferred candidate, if that candidate happens to be an incumbent. Rather, an ordinance mandating term limits restricts elective choices for voters by mandating that elected officials step down from office, regardless of the job they are doing or how they are perceived by their constituants.  Preventing a qualified citizen from standing before the voters and running for office, especially when that citizen is a known quantity for having served in that office, limits a voter’s choice in a very significant way.  Let the voters decide who has served long enough, using the term-limit mechanism we already have in place: elections.

If the goal of mandated term limits is to encourage citizen involvement in the political process with the hope of instilling “new blood” on the city council, one need only look at the results of the last election to see that mandatory term limits are unnecessary. In the absence of mandated term limits, two new council members were elected (Mr. Baric and Mr. Petrilla), while a longstanding incumbent was defeated (Mr. Blais). Clearly, those who voted in that election did not need a city ordinance telling them for whom they could or could not support.

Finally, with regard to the contribution that term limits have made to the creation of an inexperienced, dysfunctional, and abysmal state legislature, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, stated: 

“Of all the mistakes I’ve made in public life, the one I regret most is advocating for term limits for the Legislature….It has harmed the institution badly.” San Jose Mercury News, July 31, 2010.

Term limits are necessary only if the political system overwhelmingly favors the incumbent who runs unopposed time and time again.  Clearly, the most recent election proves that an ordinance mandating term limits in Rancho Santa Margarita is unnecessary. We already have a term limits machine; it’s called a voting booth.