Community Corner
Why You Should Vote 'No' On Pacifica City Council Term Limits
Bill Collins is a local environmentalist and a member of the group opposing Measure V, which will be on November's ballot and restrict Pacifica City Council members to two terms per lifetime.
Do you think that term limits for our Pacifica City Council might improve how our city government runs? Think again.
Even if you believe that term limits have merit, Measure V is too extreme. It imposes a permanent ban on our ability to re-elect someone after a second term, even if they sit out few years. That's a ban for life!
Would term limits improve our city government? The people pushing Measure V haven't said how it would. They've refused invitations to debate it. Being frustrated with government isn't a good reason to take away our right to keep somebody on the job if we wish.
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Pacifica voters have sometimes decided to keep Council members past two terms. Sometimes we've ousted incumbents. We vote on the merits of each individual candidate, an option that V would limit. The City Council would not be able to correct the flaws in V.
Measure V is about limiting democracy. Of all the problems facing Pacifica, the ability of voters to elect candidates of our choosing isn't one of them. Let's retain our right to decide on each candidate's merits and reject Measure V's rigid, permanent restriction on our voting rights.
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