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Chafing Under Term Limits, Local Pols Act
Elected officials nationwide push for more time in office
By Gabriel Winant
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Posted Sep 10, 08 10:41 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Local politicians across the country are mounting campaigns against the term-limits laws that threaten to force them from office, reports the New York Times. More than 20 governments—including New York City's—are considering repealing term limits, with term-limited politicians spearheading the challenges. "We do a lot of churning here, but we don’t produce a lot of butter," said San Antonio's lame-duck mayor.
"It turns the running of government, to a large degree, to individuals who’ve never been elected by anybody," a Tennessee mayor says of government bureaucrats. Most communities considering a repeal will hold a vote, but New York’s city council may act unilaterally, heightening the threat of a backlash. "To bypass the will of the people without their permission strikes me as profoundly selfish and undemocratic," says a pro-term-limits activist.