APPLETON - Voters won't have a say in November on whether Appleton should limit the terms of aldermen and mayor to 12 consecutive years in office.
A resolution to hold a nonbinding, advisory referendum on the term limits was rejected Wednesday by a 10-5 vote of the Common Council.
Alderman Kyle Lobner said the number of candidates interested and qualified for local office already is small without term limits. Aldermen serve a two-year term between elections, and the mayor serves a four-year term.
"We're disqualifying somebody whose constituents have decided to put them here six different times," Lobner said. "... Odds are we're disqualifying somebody who, at least in the eyes of their constituents, is a pretty good alderperson."
Council members voting against the referendum were Lobner, Denise Fenton, Brad Firkus, Vered Meltzer, Corey Otis, Joe Prohaska, Alex Schultz, Michael Smith, Maiyoua Thao and Katie Van Zeeland.
Smith said every election is a term limit. "If you're going to put somebody out after 12 years who's doing an excellent job, then you do a disservice to the city and you do a disservice to that district," he said. "Let the voters decide when that person's time is up."
RELATED: Appleton debates asking voters to set 12-year term limits for mayor, council
RELATED: Appleton re-examines use of city logo on solicitation letter from private firm
Council members voting for the advisory referendum were Patti Coenen, Joe Martin, Matt Reed, Bill Siebers and Nate Wolff.
Coenen said 12 years is enough for local office. She said the U.S. government wasn't founded on people being career politicians.
"I think that government needs a refresher every now and again, new voices, new opinions and thoughts, and I think this is one way of doing it," Coenen said.
The resolution was introduced in April by former Alderman Chris Croatt. It initially called for a binding resolution on term limits, but City Attorney Chris Behrens ruled that wasn't legally permissible, so the council amended the resolution to call for a nonbinding, advisory referendum.
Meltzer said no groundswell of support for term limits has emerged since Croatt submitted the resolution. He said a referendum should be reserved for "serious issues" confronting the community.
"This would be a misuse of the referendum purpose," Meltzer said.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.
"term" - Google News
June 18, 2020 at 10:23PM
https://ift.tt/3hGKcPP
Appleton council rejects call for advisory referendum on term limits for aldermen, mayor - Post-Crescent
"term" - Google News
https://ift.tt/35lXs52
https://ift.tt/2L1ho5r
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Appleton council rejects call for advisory referendum on term limits for aldermen, mayor - Post-Crescent"
Post a Comment