Reeve: San Juan Capistrano Should Have Term Limits

San Juan Capistrano City Council members should be subject to term limits, says Councilman Derek Reeve.

He’s proposing his fellow councilmen consider adopting term limits at their next meeting.

"Interestingly about 10 years ago I was opposed to term limits. Over the years however, I have experienced the 'institutionalization' of city councilmembers to county-wide politics," Reeve said "Big special interest money floods into the campaign coffers of incumbents along with a tangled web of competing loyalties.

"This advantage of incumbents over challengers reduces fair competition and leads eventually to a distance between the people and their public servants," Reeve said. "Loyalties should be entirely concentrated to the public servants constituents."

In his letter to council members, Reeve cites a term limits law from Laguna Niguel. It says:

[a] No person shall hold office as a member of the city council if such person has served on the city council for two consecutive terms, unless he or she, has subsequent to the completion of his or her last term, been out of office as a member of the city council for at least two years.

[b] If a person serves for at least two years of a term, that person for purposes of subsection (a) shall be considered to have served a full four-year term.

[c] The term limits established by this section shall be applicable to all terms of office for members of the city council commencing with the terms for members of the city council elected at the November 4, 2014, city general municipal election

The City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto in San Juan Capistrano. 

DO YOU THINK TERM LIMITS ARE A GOOD IDEA IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO? WHY OR WHY NOT? TELL US IN THE COMMENTS.

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