Voters will once again decide county term limits

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

Larimer County voters will get to decide whether the third term is a charm.

In a split vote, the county commissioners on Aug. 9 agreed to place an issue on the Nov. 1 ballot that would permit most county elected officials to serve up to three four-year terms. Currently, all officials other than the coroner are limited to serving two consecutive terms.

The ballot issue was proposed by Ed Haynes and Paul Marrick. Both were active in the recent failed petition drive to place an initiative on the ballot exempting the sheriff from term limits.

Supporters collected some 3,000 of the 9,978 signatures of registered voters required, according to Haynes, with about 500 copies of the petition still outstanding when the effort ended.

Haynes, former chairman of the local Republican Party, said the county has grown considerably since the last effort to lift term limits was defeated by a 2-1 margin in 2001. An admitted opponent of term limits, he contended that thousands of newcomers as well as voters since enfranchised deserve a chance to consider the issue once again.

Marrick, a private investigator and former police officer, said he supports term limits except when it comes to local elected offices. "As a taxpayer, I believe that we are being shortchanged when we are required to limit county elected officials to only two terms in office," he read from a written statement.

In support of his request, Marrick pointed to statistics provided by Colorado Counties Inc., a membership organization serving county governments. According to CCI, 49 of 62 Colorado counties have lifted term limits for one or more elected official and 21 have removed term limits for all elected officials. The remaining two of the state's 64 counties are city/county forms of government with appointed positions not subject to term limits.

Marrick also said a three-term precedent has already been set by Summit, Arapahoe and Pitkin counties.

"I am not asking for a ballot measure removing term limits," Marrick continued. "Simply put, I want to get the maximum return on my investment by extending the time experienced people can serve this county."

The pair found ready support from Republican commissioners Kathay Rennels and Glenn Gibson. They agreed it was a question the voters should decide and called for the referendum to appear on the fall ballot.

"I agree with you 110 percent," said Rennels, calling term limits "destructive." She said the turnover of commissioner seats between the two major parties demonstrates that "if you want somebody out, by golly they're out."

While Rennels acknowledged that her support could be seen as self-serving because it could extend her term in office, she said extending or eliminating term limits remains good policy regardless.

Without the extension, Rennels and Sheriff Jim Alderden would be term-limited from office in 2006. Rennels said she didn't know whether she would run again if voters approve the measure. Alderden in a later interview acknowledged that he "absolutely" would run again to complete his law enforcement career here.

Haynes said there was some discussion of exempting current officeholders from the measure. But he said that idea was rejected because it's important for voters to "put a face on the issue" so they can make their decisions based on the performance of current elected officials. Including them, he said, also creates a necessary constituency willing to donate time and money toward passage of the measure.

"I don't believe in term limits," Gibson said. "I believe three terms is a good way to get a return on our investment."

Karen Wagner, the sole Democrat on the commission, was the only dissenting voice. She voted against placing the measure on the ballot, noting that "pretty savvy voters" already soundly defeated the proposal to eliminate term limits four years ago.

"If there was strong citizen support for this, I would favor putting this on the ballot," Wagner said. "I don't see that today."

The proposed term-limit extension would apply to all county elected officials except the coroner and the district attorney. Voters already lifted term limits for the coroner. Any move to lift term limits for the district attorney would have to involve both Larimer and Jackson counties, which encompass the judicial district.

Colorado voters in 1990 limited state elected officials to two consecutive terms. In 1994 that limitation was expanded to include county elected officials.