Baltimore City voters will get to decide whether their elected officials should have term limits when they go to the polls Nov. 8. The question is among several proposed city charter amendments that will be on the ballot. The amendment, which appears as Question K, would limit city council members, the council president, the mayor and comptroller to no more than two consecutive full terms and no more than eight years in office in a 12 year period.
The effort is being largely backed by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns a nationwide chain of television stations, including Baltimore’s Fox45.
Jovani Patterson, chairperson of People for Elected Accountability and Civic Engagement, which spearheaded the effort to get the question on the ballot, said at a press conference Tuesday at the War Memorial, that not having term limits has resulted in a loss of population in the city, an increased murder rate and public school students who continue to fall behind.
“All across the nations, term limits continue to be a solution to help discourage political complacency, encourage bold, new ideas and help combat special interest groups from within the ranks of government,” Patterson said.
Term limits, he said, will make way for new leaders, fresh ideas and solutions to help change Baltimore City.
“The citizens of Baltimore have suffered long enough and it’s time to make term limits in our local government a reality,” said Patterson, who ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for City Council President two years ago. “It is time to give power back to the people of Baltimore.”
Baltimore civic leader Rev. Dr. Al Hathaway Sr. said term limits would help potential leaders who are sitting on the sidelines, waiting their turn.
“It allows them to get involved, get engaged, that persons aren’t just cemented into positions, but that there would be a free flow of ideas, a free flow of personalities and I believe this is the time for, “OK for question K,” Hathaway said.
Not everybody agrees, however. Larry Gibson, a University of Maryland law professor, said on WYPR’s Midday Tuesday that passing Question K could destabilize Baltimore’s city government.
“We would have a complete turnover of the mayor, the city council, the president of the city council, all at one time,” Gibson said.
He's concerned that the comptroller would be included in term limits because of the way Question K is written.
“I for the life of me can’t imagine any reason having a term limit let’s say for the comptroller,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve seen it anywhere, but maybe it exists in some place. But we want, as the watchdog, the financial watchdog of government, people with experience and institutional knowledge.”
The voters, Gibson said, have made it clear repeatedly not just in the city, but throughout the state that there should be longevity in comptrollers.
