Council votes to ask for INCREASED Term Limits

City Council and Mayor want Four More Years each
LB Term Limit INCREASE on November ballot

The Long Beach City Council voted on Tuesday, August 8 to place an increase in Term Limits on the November 6, 2018, General Election ballot. 

The vote was 9-0. The Charter Amendment will need to be approved by city voters.

The Charter Amendment to increase the Term Limits is sponsored by Mayor Garcia and Auditor Laura Doud.

Laura Doud thanked Garcia for work on Term Limit Increase

At the City Council Charter Committee meeting, only the LBFD Union and LB City Auditor Laura Doud supported the increasing the council and mayor's terms.

Doud a Republican, heaped praise on Democrat Mayor Robert Garcia and thanked him for working with her on the proposed Charter Amendments

Doud spoke about her support for the need for Council persons to have an additional term.

Doud's elected Auditor's position has no term limits. Doud has been in office for 12 years.

Mayor Garcia has spun the increase in Term Limits as "fixing a broken system" and "closing a loop-hole".  

In reality, the "fix" is adding a third term and the "loop-hole"  is giving incumbents the ability not to run a write-in campaign.

The record of incumbent write-in campaigns in the last 26 years is 50%.  Out of six actual incumbent write-in campaigns, three have failed and three have won.   

Eight District Councilman Al Austin moved the item to increase the Term Limits with the three other Charter Amendments.  To his credit, Austin did not hide behind the political spin of calling the term limit increase fixing a broken system.  Austin argued that neighboring cities have no term limits or Term Limits higher than the current two that he and his fellow council members and mayor have.  Austin also stated that he supports making the City Council full-time.

Austin did not address the cost of nine full-time council members and a full-time mayor, plus staff.

A common theme from the council members who explained why they were voting to place the measure on the ballot was to let the voters decide. 

Opponents to increasing the Term Limits point out that it was voters who placed the original Term Limits on the ballot, not politicians.   

Opponents to the year increase also note that the mayor and council are being deceitful to voters by claiming that they are asking voters to fix a broken system or close a loop-hole.  




For more information:

Facebook feed of speakers VOTE TO INCREASE TERM LIMITS

LA Times on when Long Beach passing REAL TERM LIMITS

Russia and: Extending Term Limits