Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Politics

Voters have chance to ditch term limits

The proposed change, approved in a narrow vote, will be on the Jan. 29 ballot.

By NICK JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
Published December 9, 2007

SOUTH PASADENA - Residents will be asked to vote on a charter amendment that, if approved, would eliminate term limits for the mayor and city commissioners.

The proposed change is one of five items that will be added to the Jan. 29 presidential primary ballots at the recommendation of the city's Charter Review Committee.

This will be the second time term limits have been put to a vote. In 2002, voters overwhelmingly rejected an amendment that would have increased the limit from three consecutive terms to four.

Now five years later the once-contentious issue has resurfaced. Even the nine-member Charter Review Committee that recommended the change had trouble coming to a consensus, voting 5 to 4 in favor of the amendment.

Mayor Dick Holmes held the swing vote. A former supporter of term limits, he voted to remove them.

"I've changed my mind over the years, and I've determined that term limits happen at the ballot box," Holmes said. "Maybe I'm a more mature voter now, but I can determine who's doing a good job and who isn't."

That same sentiment is echoed across the rest of the City Commission and marks a departure from the previous commission, which decided not to put eliminating term limits on the ballot after residents voted against extending them in 2002.

All of the current city commissioners cite a lack of participation in the town government as the main argument against the limits.

"I think in such a small community where it's hard to get people to run for these offices, it's kind of ridiculous," Commissioner Diane Sheldon said.

South Pasadena has just fewer than 6,000 residents and is less than a square mile in size. Several of the current commissioners ran unopposed.

Supporters of the proposal also point to neighboring municipalities that don't have term limits, such as Gulfport and St. Pete Beach.

But the final say rests with the voters, said Dan Calabria, one of the Charter Review Committee members who opposed the recommendation. He doesn't think voters' minds have changed along with the commission's.

"The fundamental problem is that when people serve too long in one position, they become ineffective," Calabria said.

He said the proposal resulted only from the votes of the current mayor and his predecessor, Fred Held, who were able to sway the nine-member review committee.

"Were it not for those commissioners voting, it would have been rejected by a 6 to 3 vote by the residents on the committee."

Nick Johnson can be reached at nickjohnson@sptimes.com or 893-8361.

[Last modified December 8, 2007, 23:41:07]