July 5 2018
Terms Limits for City Council makes Ballot
The Term Limits for City Councilmembers initiative has qualified for the November ballot. SMCLC endorsed this tenacious grassroots effort from the beginning. We think too much power, concentrated in the same hands over decades, as has occurred in Santa Monica, discourages qualified candidates from running. We want a City Council that is more responsive to residents and less beholden to the special interests and money donated by those with business before the Council.
We congratulate the Santa Monica Transparency Project, its chair, Mary Marlow, and Councilmember Sue Himmelrich for initiating this measure and guiding it through a white knuckle process (over 10,000 registered voters had to sign the petition correctly in a relatively short time).
Throughout Southern California, residents have voted for term limits in cities like L.A., West Hollywood, Santa Barbara, Culver City, Glendale, Redondo Beach, Torrance, and Anaheim. Some of them restrict councilmembers to just two terms. In Santa Monica, this initiative allows councilmembers to serve three terms and up to twelve years going forward.
We will keep you posted as the campaign progresses towards victory in November. With your support this will pass easily and lead to better government.
