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Oregon Ballot Measures: 45 Term Limits..Yes..Yes..Yes

by Tryan Hartill

Next up on the Oregon Ballot Measure discussions is 45. This Measure would set Term Limits for the critters in Salem.

Text:

WHEREAS: Limiting the terms of legislators expands opportunities for public service, reduces the influence of lobbyists and the power of incumbency in elections, and encourages fresh energy and ideas through varied public representation, and;

WHEREAS: The People of Oregon overwhelmingly approved term limits with 70% of the vote in 1992, but those term limits were overturned in 2000 under a legal technicality;

THEREFORE:

The following amendment shall be added to the Oregon Constitution:

No person shall serve more than six years in the Oregon House of Representatives, eight years in the Oregon Senate, or more than a total of fourteen years in the Legislative Assembly. Accordingly, no person shall be placed upon a ballot for an elected office or appointed to such office, if being elected or appointed could cause that person to exceed these limits.

These limits shall include all previous years of service in the Legislative Assembly. Notwithstanding, any person duly elected or appointed to an office in the Legislative Assembly on or before January 1, 2007 shall be allowed to finish that specific term of office.

If any part of this amendment is held to be invalid for any reason, then the remaining parts shall not be affected but shall remain in full force and effect. Any person residing in Oregon or nonprofit business entity doing business in Oregon shall have standing to enforce this amendment.

The “No” folks do have a good argument that I’m sure we have all heard many times…We already have Term Limits…when we vote…

Yes it’s a good point, but when do Incumbents get voted out?

The answer is hardly ever. In 2004 there was a much better chance that a sitting critter in Salem was kicked out because of criminal activity, then at the ballot box…..

::::

Here is a quick rundown on who should vote for and against this Measure according to different circumstances:

Vote No If

1. You are an elected official at the State level.

2. You are happy with our elected leaders.

3. You are a lobbyist or an industry that is heavily involved in State politics.

4. You are a “Straight Ticket” Democrat or Republican.

Vote Yes If

1. You are an Independent Voter.

2. You want more diverse political thought in Salem.

3. You wish Oregon had 3rd party Representatives.

4. You are willing to give up the chance to vote for the best possible candidate in certain circumstances, for fresh faces.

My answers are No, No, No, and No to the first set of questions and Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes to the bottom 4.

No contest….Yes wins in a knockout.

Nov 4, 04:07 pm | Tryan Hartill
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6 comments on this article (post your own)

1 On Nov 4, 07:22 pm, coboble wrote:

In about 18 months, can someone remind me that I need to become a straight ticket partisan before the next election. Having someone tell me how to vote would make this so much easier. :-)

Has the Republican Party of Oregon taken an official stance on this, and can someone point me to a reference for that stance. I found this for the Democratic party (which is NO).
This is another one where the Libertarians and Greens agree. However, in this case it may have more to do with this being to both of their own advantage, than it necessarily being such a good idea. I wonder where the constitution party stands on this one.

Why don’t we just vote the old timers out when they run? Why do we need a separate measure for this?

I don’t have real strong feelings about this issue (This one along with 40 both have the note “DO NOT CARE” where I put notes related to my initial reaction to the measure.) My next reaction was YES, after reading the arguments on the Libertarian and the Green party web sites.
But now I am tending back toward NO.
I may leave this one blank (along with 40).

2 On Nov 4, 07:24 pm, coboble wrote:

Where did the cartoon come from, did you draw this?
I was wondering if I can put this on my blog page?

3 On Nov 5, 01:00 am, THartill wrote:

Has the Republican Party of Oregon taken an official stance on this, and can someone point me to a reference for that stance.

They might of, but after spending a good chunk of time playing Sherlock Google, I can’t seem to find their stance on any ballot measure.

I can see exactly why the Greens and Libertarians want this passed. Now they have a one in a million shot at sending one of their own to Salem, if this passes, suddenly people will have to pay a bit more attention to who their voting for and they will have better odds.

Why don’t we just vote the old timers out when they run?

We don’t because OUR Reps are doing a good job…they bring home the cash. It’s everyone else’s that we can’t stand.

Not that this is all bad though. There is an argument that we want our leaders to bring back as much of the tax money we pay as possible. And this will still happen with Term Limits.

4 On Nov 5, 08:36 am, Walter Richards wrote:

On the one hand, I think if Congress thinks term limits are a good idea for a President … who has little power (Constitutionally) ... then it should be good for Congress. What’s good for the goose, and all that. But on the other hand, I agree that if we were in a true representative democracy … the People could elect whomever they wanted as many times as they wanted.

Another thing to think about … and everybody considering a YES vote should think about this long and hard … is that term limits give more power to unelected bureaucrats. Without term limits, the legislature/governor has more time to keep an eye on those bureaucrats (who essentially are the ones actually running the gov’t). Those unelected bureaucrats are less likely to be responsive to representatives with term limits. IE “S/He’s only going to be here another couple years … just ignore her/him.”

Unless, of course, a new breed of representatives get elected with the cojones to actually fire some bureaucrats. But that would result in a smaller gov’t, and I don’t see it happening.

5 On Nov 5, 09:03 am, Patrick McGee wrote:

The Bottom line?

Contrary to Senator Betsy Johnsons’ analogy of it takes a long time for a “Pol” to understand the budget and tenure makes an idiot wise,
I say “Term Limits” absolutely!

Serving “The Public” should be a “Civic Duty” all of us should face rather than that service being a “Career Choice”.

As it is with Astoria Mayor, it’s simply time for a change, for new thinking, a new vision to protect the fabric and ambience of what we have here and take that future out of the hands of a few people and put it back in the interest of all of us.

6 On Nov 5, 10:17 am, Walter Richards wrote:

I often wonder if we wouldn’t have a better gov’t if legislative service was done like jury duty.

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