Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson Tuesday defended his proposal to ask voters to approve a change to the county’s charter that would allow supervisors to serve three consecutive terms before leaving the office.
Nelson placed the issue on the agenda of today’s board meeting, but it was postponed until a later meeting because officials are still researching if past service can be counted against any incumbents such as Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who is on a second tour of duty on the board having first served on the board from 1997-2002. He was elected again to the board and started another term in 2013.
Jon Fleischman, president of the California Term Limits organization, criticized how the proposal was placed on a supplemental agenda for today’s board meeting “without substantial public discourse” beforehand.
Fleischman also objected to the supervisors getting three terms.
“We believe that two terms is better than three terms because we believe by that third term you start to detach from public life,” Fleischman said.
While it was “not ideal” to let supervisors get termed out and return after sitting out for some time, as Spitzer has done, “it’s preferable to three (consecutive) terms,” Fleischman said.
“If this is placed on the ballot we will oppose it,” Fleischman warned the supervisors. “And we will make a big deal out of it. We think it’s a bad idea.”
Nelson said he placed it on the agenda at the request of state Sen. John Moorlach, who first proposed the idea.
Nelson said the “loophole” that allows elected officials to be termed out after being re-elected, but then allows them to run again, ought to be closed because it violates the spirit of term limits that voters have approved.
“I think there should be a lifetime ban” after the three terms, Nelson said. “When people voted for term limits we understood it to be a lifetime ban.”
And 12 years appears to be the best way to do it, Nelson said.
“I think three terms is the appropriate amount, not because I served two,” Nelson said. “I’m planning on running for something else, if anything.”
Nelson said he is planning to run for judge.
Twelve years is enough time for an elected leader to get experience to participate in all of the committees and other agencies that go along with being supervisor, such as work on the Orange County Transportation Authority board, Nelson said.
“I think term limits are a pretty good idea and they should be for life, and a reasonable time — not too long and not too short,” Nelson said.
–City News Service