Statement Regarding 2016 Term Limits
Ballot Question By Sharon L. Cohen
Before the August 24, 2016 Meeting
of the Montgomery County
Charter Review Commission
Good morning. I am Sharon
Cohen and am speaking this morning in support of term limits for members of the County Council
and the County Executive. My comments are solely mine as a private individual and are not representative of or on behalf of any organization. I appreciate the Charter
Review Commission’s (CRC) opportunity to speak this morning.
There are two pathways
in Montgomery County
whereby Charter changes
may be put on the ballot. One is by recommendation of this body – the CRC -- and second
is through the citizen petition
process. These pathways
are mutually exclusive
and while individual members
of the CRC may have their own personal views on the term limits
question -- for or against
-- the public has spoken
loud and clear.
Reportedly, 18,000 registered voters in Montgomery County signed the petition.
It’s my
understanding just yesterday, the Board of Elections has certified a sufficient number
of those signatures (only 10,000 validated signatures was required) that the term limit question
– to limit the County Council members
and the County Executive to no
more than three terms – or 12 years office – will be put to the voters this November.
The only opinion that matters now is that of the voters.
So what should voters
know about term limits.
·
Term Limits are Very Common
o
The President of the US is limited
to two terms.
o Maryland’s Governor is limited to two terms. And 35 other states (a majority of US states) have term limits
for their Governors.
o Major cities across the US, including — Houston, Dallas,
New York, Los Angeles
-- just to name a few — have term limits for elected city officials.
o All jurisdictions around Montgomery County — Prince Georges, Howard, Frederick
—as well as Anne Arundel,
St. Mary’s, Harford
and Baltimore Counties, all have some form of term limits
for their local elected
officials.
o "The ancient Greeks
and Romans were the first societies to implement term limits. They believed
that a change of leadership periodically was good for government.” National Association of Counties, 2011 publication.
·
Term Limits Will Drive Participation of Citizen Legislators
o
Abraham Lincoln in his famous
Gettysburg Address said that our country following
the Civil war would have “a new birth of freedom” and that “the government of the people,
by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” It’s the
people-- that is citizens and not career
politicians -- who need to come first
by participating as citizen legislators.
o Term limits
promotes opportunity for average citizens
to run for office and actually win because open seats will become
routine.
o Voter participation is at an all time low in the county,
“just 16.2 percent of Montgomery County's
630,000 voters cast ballots,” the lowest
county turnout in the entire state. AP June 26, 2014.
o Perhaps when career
politicians run and win each election, citizens feel the current political system
without term limits
is a stacked deck, so why bother voting.
·
Term Limits are an Important Check on the Power of Incumbency
o
The power of incumbency is an overriding and powerful force in politics.
Incumbents have the bully pulpit, they have easy access to the press,
special interests try to curry favor with them, and they have an overwhelming advantage when it comes to fundraising.
o This privilege
of incumbency must be checked;
otherwise an entrenched and elitist political class
is created.
o Term limits
helps create a level-playing field where average
citizens can run for office and the advantages of incumbency are removed.
o
And it’s good for politicians to return to average citizen status from time to time, as “Surely,
the ‘experience’ of living
as a private citizen under the rules and taxes one voted for as a legislator is just as valuable and instructive, if not more so, than the experience
of cooking up those rules and taxes in the first place." Lawrence Reed 2001, Why Term Limits, President
of the Foundation for Economic
Education
·
Term Limits
Have Bipartisan Support
o
Of the 18,000
petition signatures in Montgomery County,
over 60 percent
were registered Democrats, Independents and/or unaffiliated voters.
o The proof of that bipartisan support will come post election, when registered voters
in Montgomery County
regardless of party affiliation vote to limit the terms of the County Council and Executive.
