Another voice against term limits

On Friday at Delegate Assembly we will be asked to vote yet again on term limits for UCO officers. We’ve already voted the proposal down several times, but supporters have said they will keep bringing it up again and again until they get term limits reinstated. That doesn’t change the fact that in a community like ours term limits are not necessary. The arguments against term limits have not changed:

Officers who choose to run for election after two consecutive terms are not guaranteed to win. Delegates will decide with their votes whether someone deserves another term. As we’ve said many times, “If you don’t like who’s running, vote the bum out.” We owe it to people who have served us well to give them a chance to continue helping us. People with bad records don’t typically try to run, and we wouldn’t vote for them anyway.

We keep hearing that new people can’t win when incumbents remain in office beyond two terms. Nothing could be further from the truth: People don’t lose elections because an incumbent is running (ask George Bush Sr. and Jimmy Carter). They lose because they haven’t won the trust of the voters. They lose because their ideas don’t capture voters’ imaginations. They lose because they haven’t made their case. Don’t let term limits be an excuse for losing elections.

We have great precedent for removing term limits. Individual towns and states in this country have the right to set term limits or not. Many mayors in American towns and cities (roughly comparable to our community) have served well for many years, and the same is true for state governors. And when they don’t, they are voted out. Repeat: voted out.

We need good people to serve. In the past two UCO elections we had only two people running for President. People come to the Village to retire and enjoy their lives as they choose, and that doesn’t often include volunteer service. We have a few good men and women who do choose to serve and we need the institutional knowledge and experience they’ve gained over the years. We need them in roles that can continue making a difference. Someone new will come along one day and make us stand up and take notice. Term limits won’t get in their way.

Delegates, please do not give in to voter fatigue when term limits comes up for vote on Friday. Vote no on reinstating term limits. Remember: Your vote determines who wins elections. You don’t need term limits to tell you how to vote.