WHY TERM LIMITS? Term Limits: A Light in the Dark of Political Corruption Incumbency is an issue in government, both local and federal, that has been a topic of controversy since government’s infancy. Incumbency is the issue of whether or not officials should stay permanently in office once elected. Should elected officials remain in office until they resign (or die off) or should they have some sort of lawful restriction placed on the duration of their service? An incumbent (office holder) who is aware that his term will eventually come to an end (with or without a possibility of re-running for election) is surely in a different mindset than an incumbent who needn’t worry of such things. The notion that we should restrict incumbents from permanently holding office primarily arises from the fear that officials who are not restricted will be more prone to corruption, negligence, and incompetence. JUST AS WE HAVE SEEN YEAR AFTER YEAR IN SOUTHERN, WEST VIRGINIA ! Unpopular office holders are much more difficult to remove. Impeachment is typically reserved for officers who are corrupt, law violating or so incompetent that they danger the public good, but rarely implemented. Recalls, as we see some State’s voters trying to do, is one way. But difficult to do!! Of course, West Virginia has no RECALL LAWS. Why? It also applies to those making the law(s). Suffice to say there is a myriad of reasons for an incumbent to stop holding his office. The best form of restriction on incumbency is term limits. As we all know, a term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. The most familiar term limit to the is the presidential term limit of 2 terms (4 years each), meaning that the President of the United States may only run for re-election once and serve for a total of eight years. Our governor, and sheriff’s also two consecutive four year term limits (2 terms - 4 years each).
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 01:47:58 +0000