Revisiting term limits in Maine and beyond

On October 28, David Offer, the former executive editor of the Kennebec Journal, wrote a column in his old newspaper calling for Mainers to reconsider term limits for State Representatives and Senators.  I wonder where David was on November 6, 2007, when Maine voters decided to uphold the four consecutive term limit for state legislators.

Unfortunately, nobody was paying attention to this term limits column just eight days before a history-making presidential election and a referendum to repeal a $70 million tax increase. But now that election craziness has come to an end, revisiting the term limits discussion is appropriate in light of the recent antics of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Mainers enacted term limits in 1993 after nearly 100,000 of them signed the citizen initiative petition to put the question on the ballot. Although the political class fought the proposal -- including then-Secretary of State Bill Diamond, a current State Senator and likely gubernatorial candidate -- 68 percent of voters said no more than four consecutive terms in office. In 2007, Augusta politicians, including State Sens. Ethan Strimling and Lisa Marrache put the term limits question before voters again, asking for an extension from four consecutive terms to six. This time, 67 percent of voters kept the four consecutive term limit in place.

The term limits debate in Maine is over, or at least on hold for a while. Mainers reaffirmed their support for the fresh faces and better government that term limits encourage. But other politicians, both in America and other parts of the world, are still trying to tighten their grip on government.

In New York City, the Democrat turned Republican turned Independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg succeeded in pushing a term limits extension through the city council, even though city voters enacted and reaffirmed their support for a two-term limit for the mayor in 1993 and 1996, respectively. Bloomberg’s argument? The tough economy makes him uniquely qualified to lead New York out of its economic downturn. My response? Bull. New York City is the financial capital of the world. Although Bloomberg may have the skills and experience to rebuild the sluggish economy, you can’t swing a cat in Midtown without hitting somebody with the same level of expertise. After September 11, Bloomberg’s predecessor, Rudy Giuliani, obliged his term limit even though threats of another terrorist attack were at their highest levels. And who knows, maybe a mayor other than Bloomberg wouldn’t have spent $4 million in taxpayer dollars to rename the Triboro Bridge while the city is bankrupt.

Bloomberg’s move is a power grab. If he believes his expertise is critical to the economic future of the city, nothing prevents him from offering his wisdom to the next mayor. If he thought the city was ready to revisit term limits, he could have made sure a question was on the ballot to let voters decide. Instead, he circumvented the voters and went to the city council with a sweetheart proposal that also extends the term limits for council members.

Bloomberg has taken a hit because of this latest crusade. In just one month his approval ratings dropped 9 points, and some members of the New York State Legislature are trying to force the extension to go before the voters in March. Luckily, there is still some common sense left in Albany.

In Venezuela, term limits are helping prevent socialist President Hugo Chavez from creating a full-fledged dictatorship, which is why Chavez has continued to push for an elimination of the two-term limit for the presidency.

The Venezuelan Constitution allows for a President to serve no more than two consecutive six year terms. Under this provision, Chavez is barred from running again in 2012. Last year, Venezuelans rejected Chavez’s proposal to lift presidential term limits. At that time, Chavez accepted the decision of the voters, but after his political opponents made key gains at the polls last week, he is once again seeking a constitutional change that permits him to run for re-election indefinitely. He has urged his underlings in the parliament to move quickly to approve the nationwide referendum, and has already announced that “Chavez is not leaving.”

Hopefully, Venezuelans will reject this latest proposal with a wide enough margin to deflect any potential voter fraud by the Chavez government. After all, if Chavez hasn’t done anything yet to address the uptick in homicides, high inflation and piles of trash, lifting his term limits will be meaningless.

Too often, politicians across the country and the world ignore the wishes of voters and continue trying to tighten their grip on government. Voters know that term limits prevent politicians from turning our legislatures and our state houses into political playgrounds, and have consistently supported proposals to limit their time in office. It is important that this trend continue. Term limits create better government, and that must be a priority.