Friday, April 25, 2008

"Rick Ross" asks:

How many sitting City Councilors are in favor of term limits or do they believe like the Mayor that it is a ten to twenty year appointment ?

I'm not aware of anyone other than John Tobin -- who is actively pushing term limits -- coming out in favor of it. As you suggest, Menino is openly opposed to the idea. I know Rob Consalvo is opposed, and I imagine that most of the district councilors (many of whom were elected with Menino's help) would be unwilling to back it even if they kinda like the idea, which I suspect most do not. Steve Murphy has suggested that term limits should be a ballot-referendum issue, not a council vote, and I think that's a pretty good line that the rest of them will use to waffle around the topic. Incidentally, it's worth recalling that Maura Hennigan came out for term limits just before she ran for Mayor. It's a pretty good tactic for getting people thinking about how long is too long for the Mayor to remain in office. At the time, as I recall, Tobin was against it....