Term Limits Bill for Florida County Commissioners Dies

The effort to enact term limits on County Commissioners in the state of Florida has died in the Senate for 2024. This has been widely reported in the media and the House sponsor, Rep. Michelle Salzman, has vowed to bring it back.  I was surprised that it did not go this session, but I believe it will go next session.  Interestingly, Salzman and I discussed this very issue on a recent Coffee with the Commissioner.  Lots of folks have asked my opinion on this, especially given that  I'm an incumbent County Commissioner and Michelle Salzman is a friend of mine.  For many years.

As I told her on the coffee--I'm generally supportive of term limits, and I know my constituents are in full support.  I believe the need for term limits is much stronger at the federal level, where we have folks in congress serving for decades and decades.  That never seems to happen though.  Neither does the desperately needed balanced budget amendment at the federal level, either.  But I digress.

Florida legislators have 8 year term limits.  Florida Governors do too, as do elected cabinet members. Recently, Florida school board members were capped at 8 years.  According to Salzman, all elected constitutional officers, if she has her way, will eventually be subject to term limits--she's not just picking on school board members and county commissioners.  She is just starting with county commissioners.  Okay, that sounds reasonable and fair.

I believe 12 years should be the magic number, because in government it takes years and years to get big projects over the line.  A soon to open fire station, for example, has been an 8 year, sustained effort.   The soon to open boat ramp in D1 has been nearly 9 years in the making.  The Beulah Interchange will have been a nearly 15 year effort once it is constructed.  I am 6 years into the effort to build a replacement fire station on Bauer Road.  In short--big stuff takes time in local government.  And if the voters boot out Commissioners every 8 years--who is to say the project that has been in the pipeline for 4-7 years will be carried forward?  Answer--there is no guarantee.  As an example:  D2 in Escambia County wanted public beach access and pushed for the purchase of 300 feet on the Gulf to provide this.  After electors booted the incumbent in 2014--the next commissioner did NOT want that beach access opened and he kept it locked behind a gate and no trespassing signs for the next 8 years of his term.  Also in D2, the incumbent in 2013 was on his way toward getting a 4-lane solution out of Perdido Key and Sorrento Road all the way out of the beach area.  His successor killed that project upon his election because he had different priorities.

So "8 is Enough" might have been the cute moniker of a cheesy 70's sitcom--But 8 years isn't always enough in the world of local commissioners.

So 12 years is appropriate, in all areas, in my opinion.  2 terms as U.S. Senator, 6  2-year terms for U.S. House, and 12 years for the constitutionionals in Florida.  Along the way, the voters will and do have the ultimate power to enact shorter terms, as appropriate, in elections along the way.  

Because a quick walk through the 2nd floor of 221 Palafox Place---where all former Escambia County Commissioner pictures and terms of office are memorialized--starkly illustrates that Escambia voters have historically been keenly adept at imposing term limits on commissioners without a formalized legal cap............  4 year, 4 years, 6 years, 8 years, 4 years, 4 years. 8 years, 12 years, 4 years, 8 years, 4 years.    I encourage folks to go look for themselves and do the math and check the average term in office for the commissioners over time locally.  Then decide this for yourself:  Is the imposition of term limits for county commissioners by the legislature  really a pressing need? ---- or is this actually just a politically-motivated solution to a problem that the voters have already solved?

Term Limits? Yes, Commissioners are Being Targeted

Agree is the unanimous answer I have seen in every town hall in which I have asked the audience "Should all elected offices have term limits?"

At every town hall I do in my district I always take a moment to do an unofficial "poll" of the audience on various topics of interest.  It is amazing the visceral reaction when I ask about term limits.  It is a sea of "agree" cards appearing in the audience when I ask "should the terms of office for U.S. Congress and Senate have limits?"

I always ask the same question about locally elected positions like the one in which I serve--county commissioner.  Same result--a sea of "agree" cards.

So it comes as no surprise to me that Representative Michelle Salzman filed a bill this past week to specifically limit the terms of office for County Commissioners around the state.  She and I have actually discussed it a number of times and I was aware she'd be filing the bill.  We are friends.

My prediction is it will pass, some form of it (perhaps with 12 years instead of 8 consecutive) will pass the legislature--and then I believe the voters will pass it on the November, 2024 ballot.  I believe it will easily exceed the 60% threshold necessary to revise the constitution.  And I say "good."  Because I support term limits.

But here is where I think a major issue lies:  If we are truly going to be dyed-in-the wool, puritan, strident adherents to the absolute and unconditional doctrine of term limits for all elected constitutional officers statewide--why take the easy, lazy road by simply limit them to school board members last session and now, apparently, county commissioners this time?  I mean, if we truly want to demonstrate that this is not somehow targeted toward only these two particular offices--why not simply add all elected county constitutional offices to this legislation?  And this isn't a shot at any other constitutional office or officeholder beyond the school board and commissioners---It is a fair question and one for which a cogent answer should be given by those bill sponsors who seek to limit terms of some, but not others.  And make no mistake, that is what this is, a limit on some and no limits on others, for expediency.  

Otherwise, we would see Senator Ignolia (a really smart and effective legislator)   and Rep. Salzman and the rest of them proudly and publicly add-in Clerks of the Court, Supervisors of Elections, County Sheriffs, County Tax Collectors, and County Property Appraisers to the term-limit, feel good, red meat legislation.  So why are they not doing it--I mean, they themselves are term-limited to 8 years, they want to limit commissioners and have already limited school board members---so why not the rest of the constitutional officers too if this is really, truly, only a puritanical, ideologically-driven piece of legislation and nothing more and not some shot at only one class of elected office, commissioners?

I know the answer, and they do, too.  They won't do it, they can't do it-- because if they did, they'd lose

On AM 790 WPNN This Morning.

I will be a guest on this morning's "Quinlan Report" at 6:05AM and 7:05AM today.

The segment was recorded yesterday for broadcast this morning.

In this interview we discuss multiple topics, to include my thoughts on civics education, gun violence, apathy of the population, school board term limits, and appointed versus elected Superintendents of schools.

Quinlan also asks me point blank if I will be running for Superintendent in 2020 when Malcolm Thomas retires. 

It's a good discussion.......you can listen to it here!