Over the years, I've changed my mind about term limits. Elections are the most effective term-limit devices. Certainly it is handy to have a mechanism by which incompetent, lazy and/or self-serving representatives have a guaranteed limited tenure. But if we collectively continue to vote them in, we shouldn't expect to be bailed out by term limits. I would certainly prefer to have the chief spokesman for our state not be a buffoon and will vote with that in mind. But if the majority of Texans continue to choose him they should be able to reap as they sew.
There are two wrinkles with regard to term limits for local offices. In a voting population as small as Killeen's, it's possible (though I've seen no evidence that any office holder has been interested in doing it) for a representative or a group of representatives to manipulate conditions to keep themselves in office. Perhaps term limits are the right way to guard against that possibility.
The second wrinkle is that term limits give representatives an excuse to leave. I suspect that most people who have served as mayor or city counselor for their full term limit feel that they served enough; it's hard, unpaid work after all. Term limits allow them to retire undefeated with honor.
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