Public vote later this year will determine how the future process of mayoral and city-council service will be established, after the Long Beach City Council unanimously voted at its joint meeting Tuesday, Aug. 7 at City Hall, as council and the Charter Amendment Committee, for a proposed charter amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot that would create a three-term limit for said positions.
The city attorney will conduct an impartial analysis of the charter amendment and provide for the filing of written arguments regarding the initiative to be submitted for voters for the November election, according to the city-council agenda.
Elected officials spoke to the Signal Tribune this week about their decision to give local residents the options to vote for the increase in term limits– currently maxed at two terms– or to maintain the status quo.
During the Aug. 7 meeting, some of the council, namely 8th District Councilmember Al Austin, said there is currently a loophole that allows the council to run beyond two terms in the form of a write-in candidate.
“I do believe it’s important to give the voters the opportunity to decide,” Austin said. “I don’t think we want to continue to be the only city with a write-in loophole. […] The three-term modification is really not out of the norm or out of whack with other city governments. And, I can just say to many folks who said this was self-serving, please don’t assume that everybody wants to be here for 12 years. That’s an assumption. This is very hard work.”
During the public-comment portion of the meeting, some residents were outspoken against some of the proposed charter amendments that were discussed. Local resident John Deats criticized the councilmembers for their decisions.
“I’ve been a council watcher since 1965, when my father was first elected to the 3rd district,” Deats said. “[…] In all that time, I have only witnessed two charter amendments that were worth a ‘diddly darn.’ One was the creation of the Citizen Police Complaint Commission. The other was, in fact, term limits. And, in both cases, those charter amendments were driven by popular demand from the populous. It was the people’s initiative to bring those forward. For you to mess with those now, I find that reprehensible. It is so blatantly and transparently self-serving. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Laura Doud, city auditor, confirmed during the meeting that the mayor and councilmembers “can run for an unlimited number of terms as a write-in candidate.” In such a scenario, once a write-in candidate would win the primaries, his or her name would appear on the general-election ballot.
Doud said she is in favor of establishing a three-term limit.
“I also support term limits for three terms, because I believe that it promotes long-term decision making, which, I believe, allows for more prudent long-term decision making on behalf of our city,” she said.
Fifth District Councilmember Stacy Mungo told the Signal Tribune Monday that she believes there is a lot of misinformation about the issue. She said, in theory, as Doud and Austin mentioned, there are no term limits, because of the write-in option. She used Vice Mayor Dee Andrews as an example, mentioning that he has run and won elections three times as part of the council.
“I have not voted for or against term limits,” Mungo said. “All I have done is said that the voters should have the choice, as they are the ones who voted the original legislation. Now they have the ability to add term limits in the method that is most often seen in the region. If the voters don’t want that, then they can keep the current system. If they want something else, they can vote for that, too.”
In a phone interview Tuesday, 3rd District Councilmember Suzie Price reaffirmed her remarks from the council meeting that she has always been a strong supporter of term limits, believing that such limits provide opportunities for others to become involved in public service.
“So, I gave myself as an example,” she said. “[…] Without the councilmember who served before me being termed-out and opting not to run as a write-in, I would not have had a meaningful opportunity to run for the seat and win. I think term limits bring fresh ideas, they give people opportunities to get involved with public service and bring […] different attitudes and new perspectives.”
Garcia and Doud presented the agenda item to the council, according to Price. She said now that the proposed charter amendment will be on the November ballot, residents will have to educate themselves about the initiative to make an informed vote later this year. The councilmember said the City will not be hosting any more meetings regarding any of the proposed charter amendments.
“Like I said, I have mixed feelings about this particular one, because I believe strongly in term limits, and I want to hear what the voters think about this,” she said. “And, of course, we will respond accordingly, but this is something that the people should get to decide in terms of the length of service for a representative.”
In a phone interview Wednesday, 9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson said there has been a trend with elected seats on the county and state level of instituting limits for its officials.
He said the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles and State of California all have recently implemented a 12-year limit– three four-year terms– for elected officials.
“It seems like there’s beginning to be a standard forming,” he said, “and I think it makes sense for the City of Long Beach, the second-largest city in the county, to consider being on a similar schedule as these other agencies.”
He also expressed concern about a candidate potentially being written-in to an electoral ballot an unlimited amount of times with the current system, also echoing his colleagues’ statements that incumbency is strong in the city and having a real cut-off promotes new ideas.
“All of our surrounding cities, with the exception of the City of Carson, which just went to 12 years, by the way, all the rest of the cities around– Compton, Paramount, Bellflower, Signal Hill, Lakewood– every city that touches the county has no term limits whatsoever,” Richardson said. “If we went to 12 years, we will still be amongst the most modest term limits in the region and consistent with most of the larger agencies.”
