The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
QUESTION: Do you think local elected officials (city councilmembers, county supervisors, etc.) should have term limits?
Talk about it….
Yes
Yes, all political officials whether it’s local, state, or federal, should not hold office for more
than four years, and they should all be voted in, and never appointed. When a public official
is appointed by other public officials, it’s taking power away from the voters.
Absolutely ! ! ! Two terms then out.
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Far too many are legends in their minds putting their agenda first and all the time having their eye on higher office. We The People deserve, representation in line with Constitution, not political weather vanes, parroting whatever their party or media put out there.
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We deserve independent thinkers unafraid to go against lunatic ideas of their party.
We deserve representation who put what is good of society first.
Absolutely! We’ve seen the Council pro-tems go on for years with everybody patting each other on the back maintaining the status-quo – so nobody’s feathers get ruffled by the by time their turn at mayor-ship comes around
Yes but they should be able to get voted back in if they are doing a good job.
Just_Real_Me,
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The problem with the condition you’ve placed on your idea of term limits, “but they should be able to get voted back in if they are doing a good job,” is that your idea of a “good job” is another voters idea of a “bad job.” While advocating for term limits sometimes or with conditions, unless the elected official is “doing a good job,” essentially means you’re not for term limits.
ABSOLUTELY !!
Start with Markie DeSaulnier!
Most definitely! All politicians.
I’m generally in favor of term limits, but as we’ve seen in California, with term limits for statewide state offices and the state legislature, it’s led to career politicians always looking for the next office to run for, rather than staying in one office, as they did prior to term limits. The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and the Concord City Council won’t vote for term limits for themselves, but the voters of Contra Costa County and the City of Concord can collect signatures to put term limits on the ballot for voters to decide.
No. Concord City Council is a low-paying job that requires a unique skillset from driven individuals who can afford to sacrifice a huge amount of time. Not many people are able or willing to run for office. Enacting term limits would mean that once we’ve established a competent governing body of council members who work well together and serve the City judiciously, you fire them for no reason other than they’re arbitrary amount of time is up. If you’re think councilmember shouldn’t be allowed to serve more than 2 or 3 terms, run against them, or find someone who should.
If councilmembers demonstrate through their actions that they should not be serving on Council, the public will replace them. Recent history speaks for itself. Ask Leone, McGallian, or Birsan.
I lived in Concord for many years, but since I moved to North Texas I have seen how well local government can be run. We have a two term limit for City Council members and the Mayor. City Council and the Mayor are not intended to be full time positions so the pay is low, Council members get $750 a month and the Mayor gets $1000 a month for their trouble. My town has about 200,000 people living in it so the size is comparable to Concord, but you call the city to complain about a pot hole in the road, they are there that day fixing it. Someone dumps a couch on the side of the road, it is picked up ASAP. Crime is dealt with, the homeless that we do have, which is not many, are in shelters. It is hard to explain how different things are unless you see it for yourself, but once you see it, you can’t un see it. I never realized how dysfunctional Concord was while I lived there, until I saw how a well run city worked. After that, it was only a matter of time before we moved and have never regretted our decision.
T. Payne,
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In your city is a term 2 years or 4 years? Can a person serve 2 terms on your city council and 2 terms as mayor, or is it 2 terms on the city council, or mayor, or a combination of both?
Dave,
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When has the Concord City Council ever been “a competent governing body of council members who work well together and serve the City judiciously”?
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For 157 years, the Town of Todos Santos/Concord, and the City of Concord has never had a problem attracting candidates to run for the Todos Santos/Concord Town Council, or the Concord City Council, although the creation of district elections has, at times, made the number of candidates running in a district a bit lopsided, where one district might have 1 candidate and another might have 5 candidates. In 1993, Concord City Councilmembers Lloyd Mashore, Nancy Gore, and Byron Campbell were voted out of office. It was 25 years before another Concord City Councilmember was voted out of office because of the power of incumbency.
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In 2018, Councilmember Ron Leone initially chose to not run for reelection to the Concord City Council, because he chose to instead run for Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools, but lost in the primary. He then chose to jump back into the race for Concord City Council, but because he initially didn’t run for council he wasn’t gerrymandered into a safe district as the other four councilmembers were, so he had to run against Concord City Councilmember Laura Hoffmeister. Either Ron Leone or Laura Hoffmeister or both were going to be voted out of office in this 2018 District 1 race.
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In 2022, Councilmember Tim McGallian lost reelection to the Concord City Council. Tim McGallian only won one election, his 2018 District 5 election, running unopposed after having been APPOINTED Concord City Treasurer and APPOINTED to the Concord City Council. Tim McGallian was always a horrible candidate, having lost his 2012 and 2022 elections for Concord City Council, but he was also a horrible City Treasurer, a horrible Councilmember, a horrible Vice Mayor, and a horrible Mayor!!!
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In 2024, Councilmember Edi Birsan lost reelection to a fourth term by 109 votes, largely because he rubs people the wrong way, he mocks and name calls constituents, and he angered the wrong politically active people who actively campaigned against him. In 2016, he attempted to persuade fellow candidate, Pablo Benavente, to drop out of the race for one of two at-large city council seats because he believed Pablo took votes away from him. In, 2020, Edi Birsan made a deal with Pablo Benavente, if Pablo didn’t run against Edi in the 2020 District 4 race, then Edi wouldn’t run in the 2024 District 4 race, Pablo Benavente kept his word, Edi Birsan didn’t keep his word. Edi Birsan always complains about President Donald Trump, but he often acts just like him, the difference is that President Trump almost exclusively name calls other politicians, actors, athletes, business leaders, the wealthy, and other celebrities, but former Councilmember Edi Birsan name calls his constituents, as well as almost everybody else. Maybe it’s a New York City thing?
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Serving on the Concord City Council shouldn’t be looked at as a “job,” whether the pay is low, high, or absolutely nothing at all. All of the current Concord City Councilmembers look at their position on the Concord City Council as a stepping stone to higher office, being a well paid career politician is their end goal.
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2006 – City Councilmember Susan Bonilla successfully ran for Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.
2010 – Councilmember Mark Peterson successfully ran for Contra Costa County District Attorney.
2016 – Councilmember Tim Grayson successfully ran for California State Assembly.
2018 – Councilmember Ron Leone unsuccessfully ran for Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools.
2020 – Councilmember Laura Hoffmeister unsuccessfully applied to be appointed by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to fill the vacancy for Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder.
2022 – Councilmember Edi Birsan unsuccessfully ran for the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.
2022 – Councilmember Carlyn Obringer unsuccessfully ran for the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.
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The Concord City Council has and is being used as a stepping stone to higher office. Each of the five current Concord City Councilmembers have a desire to hold higher office and will take the opportunity that serving on the Concord City Council gives them to seek higher office. It’s not the selfless act that you present it to be.
I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said here, but none of it works to support the argument that term limits are in any way helpful. Term limits do NOTHING to change the reality that the position is often a stepping stone for people seeking higher office. It only ensures that those of us who live here have a steady rotation of people always learning how to do the job, rather than “re-hiring” those who’ve proven their ability. If they haven’t proven their ability, voters can still vote them out, without stupid term limits.
Yes
Definitely need term limits. We don’t need “experience.”
Absolutely