Jun 8, 2008

Elections show value of term limits

Editorial

Term limits may chafe veteran politicians but they gave San Mateo County voters one of the few real election contests on Tuesday, a largely pro forma exercise in which incumbents easily swept aside would-be usurpers.

Term limits are an effective way to replace powerful incumbents with new leaders who may be more open to reforming dysfunctional political systems. It's one of the few ways to bring change in politics. The only real question may be how long incumbents should serve.

Thanks to the six-year limit in the state Assembly, incumbent Gene Mullin is forced to relinquish his District 19 seat, an opening that drew three highly qualified contenders. The race is so tight it's still undecided.

Elsewhere on the ballot, it was business as usual. Familiarity equaled electability.

San Mateo County Supervisors Mark Church and Rose Jacobs Gibson crushed the competition, and no one even bothered to challenge Supervisor Adrienne Tissier. Were county supervisors not term limited - they cannot serve more than three consecutive four-year terms - the incumbents might hope to hold their posts for life. Many state officeholders also went unchallenged.

At the federal level, Rep. Tom Lantos died in office and his replacement, Jackie Speier, looks like she's here to stay. Speier captured 89 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. That's the kind of job security many will envy.

Term limits give voters the best opportunity to bring change to an entrenched political system by replacing lifetime tenure with much-needed new blood.