Term Limits for City Council Members?
Thousand Oaks Planning Commissioner Al Adam intends to submit an initiative calling for term limits for city council.
Under the initiative terms would be limited to three consecutive terms with an individual waiting a full four-year term before running again. There is no cap on the number of terms that can be held.
After review by the city attorney, the next step is for a petition to be drawn and signed by ten percent of city registered voters to call for a vote on the issue.
Adams says term limits are needed because entrenched incumbents often run unopposed which decreases governmental accountability. He said that long-term relationships between generous special interest and “Can’t Lose” politicians prevents fresh thinking, new ideas, and civil involvement by ordinary people.
The cost of a city council campaign is approximately $150,000 today.
In 2008, a term limit initiative for Ventura County Supervisors passed with 74% of the vote.
The Thousand Oaks City Council is not meeting during the month of August.
For more information on the initiative, you can visit the pro-term limit website here.
Discuss this in the Newbury Park Forum.
