One Benefit of Long Partisan Deadlock in NY State Senate: Term Limits on Leadership

No Uncertain Terms THE NEWSLETTER OF THE TERM LIMITS MOVEMENT • July/August 2009 • VOLUME 17 • No. 4 One Benefit of Long Partisan Deadlock in NY State Senate: Term Limits on Leadership Tom Golisano Sen. Joseph Griffo Gov. David Paterson Sen. Hiram Monserrate After weeks of legislative break- state income taxes). The Republi- split and with no lieutenant gover- down and mutual partisan stone- cans had lost majority control after nor in place to break any tie votes. walling in the wake of a failed the November elections, when (The state’s constitution does not GOP takeover of power, a dead- Democrats won 32 of 62 seats, provide for the selection of a new locked New York State Senate has ending decades-long Republican lieutenant governor if a lieutenant returned to business. A proposal for reign. governor is obliged to succeed a reform that has survived the deba- When the Democrats realized deposed governor, as happened in cle, at least for now, is a term limit what was happening, they walked New York.) on Senate leadership. out, leaving the Republicans to During the weeks-long standoff, On June 8, Republicans and pass a reform package on their the caucuses often held competing two renegade Democrats, Pedro own, including term limits on lead- legislative sessions or no sessions Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate ership, albeit without a quorum. at all. The crisis finally ended July engineered a coup to regain GOP Tension between the two parties 10, when the second of the two control of the chamber with the only increased. Soon, Monserrate rebel Democrats, Espada, also support of billionaire “tax refugee” returned to the Democratic fold, rejoined the Democratic caucus. Tom Golisano (who fled New York resulting in an exact 31-31 partisan for Florida to escape ever-higher (Continued on Page 3 ) Nevada Repeal Effort Defeated 9-11 in State Senate Another career-politician-led limits suffered a narrow 9-11 defeat islature, capping maximum tenure scramble to undo term limits has in the chamber, sparing voters the at 12 years (three four-year terms foundered on the shoals of political trouble of dispatching the gambit at for senators, six two-year terms reality. the polls. for assemblymen). That’s still not On May 22, Resolution 10 to re- Term limits in the Silver State enough training time for many Ne- are the most lax of any state leg- peal Nevada’s state legislative term (Continued on Page 6) No Uncertain Terms 73 Spring Street • Suite 408 • New York, NY • 10012 President’s Corner BY Philip Blumel Why do many advocates of democracy support term limits? We present facets of our case in every issue of this newsletter, but here is a thumbnail summary of the benefits. Term limits bring: ● Competitive elections that open up government to new ideas—and individuals. ● Government that is far more accessible to the people. ● Cleaner, more transparent government. ● Greatly reduced influence by special interests, since career politicians have less to time to build tight (and often highly lucrative) relationships with lobbyists and their sponsors. ● A far wider range of new, real-world perspectives and experience informing the legislative process. ● A more even distribution of power across districts and parties. ● An end to the “tyranny of seniority”—under which those most out of touch are most firmly in control. Critics of term limits often stress that this reform is not a “panacea.” Granted. No single reform, no matter how powerful, can cure everything that might ail the body politic. But this complaint assails a straw man. Term limits need not do everything to accomplish what they do in fact accomplish: dramatically reinvigorate democracy and create opportunities for better governance that could not exist without them. For all of these reasons, and more, concerned citizens across the country love term limits. For all of these reasons, politicians hate term limits and desperately cobble together backdoor proposals to rid themselves of these restrictions on their power. Visit Phil Blumel’s blog at pblumel.blogspot.com. And don’t miss the new series of critiques of congressional posterchildren for term limits by Phil’s dad, George Blumel, at posterchildrenfortermlimits.com. For the latest developments on term July/August limits across America, visit our web “It is not the function of our 2009 site on the Internet at Government to keep the citizen www.ustermlimits.org A publication of from falling into error; it is the US TERM LIMITS No Uncertain Terms is published function of the citizen to keep FOUNDATION bimonthly. Third class postage paid, the Government from falling into Washington, D.C. error.” 73 Spring Street, Suite 408 New York, NY 10012 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: -- U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. Term Limits Foundation, 73 (703) 383-0907 Spring Street, Suite 408, New York, American Communications [email protected] NY 10012 Association v. Douds No Uncertain Terms 2 73 Spring Street • Suite 408 • New York, NY • 10012 Despite Blago Scandal, Illinois Pols Spurn Term Limits and Other Reforms Illinois activists who believed to make public records easier to members of the House want to that the soul-searching attending obtain and to clean up the state’s elect Mike Madigan for 700 terms the ouster of a glaringly corrupt pension boards. But many other in a row, that’s our business; and governor provided a perfect oppor- substantive and worthy reforms, if they choose someone else, that’s tunity to reform state governance including term limits on legisla- our business.” are disappointed that only a few tive leaders, have been studiously “I don’t consider this reform recommendations made by the Illi- ignored. legislation to [be accomplishing] nois Reform Commission are being According to the commission’s in any way, shape or form what it implemented. April report, “Perpetual occupancy was supposed to,” concluded Anton The commission—appointed by of these positions tends to give R. Valukas, a member of the new Governor Patrick Quinn, successor disproportionate power to a few reform group Change Illinois. “The to the disgraced Rod Blagojevich— politicians. This concentration of thing is, I really had believed that has been criticized by citizen activ- power disenfranchises the aver- this was the time to do something.” ists for issuing a report too mod- age voter—leading them to believe The chairman of the reform com- est in its recommendations. But that without the ear of a select few mission, Patrick Collins, believes politicians who had spoken as one politicians, their opinion effectively that pushing for further reform in shocked outrage over the pay- goes unheard.” is now the job of the electorate, for-play antics of the chutzpah-en- The report called for a too-gen- since legislators are too set in their gorged Blagojevich have recoiled erous cap of 14 years on leader- ways. But Illinois voters need to be from many of the modest proposals ship (and said nothing about term accorded the full right to propose to clean up the corrupt status quo. limits on all lawmakers). But even and pass citizen initiatives—so that Tighter oversight of state con- this suggestion was repugnant to they can pass, for one thing, term tracts was probably unavoidable. many incumbents. According to limits. Legislation has also been passed Representative Lou Lang, “If the New York (Cont’d from page 1) Governor David Paterson has “When I first said we need to put almost half approve of their own called the takeover an “unnecessary term limits on top leadership posts state senator). According to a Siena distraction to government dressed around here, they looked at me as if Research Institute poll released up in the cloak, falsely, of reform.” I was crazy,” Griffo said. “We have the same day, 63% think the state But one of the Republicans’ pro- kept at it, we have kept talking and is heading in the wrong direction. posed reforms was a rule to place working, and now we have a new And a USASurvey poll sponsored an eight-year term limit on commit- Senate rule that limits terms in of- by WGRZ-TV in Buffalo finds tee chairmen and a six-year term fice for powerful leadership posi- that 79% of respondents want state limit on the senate majority leader tions to eight years.” legislative term limits. and president, which would at least Griffo is also pushing for other “The coup in Albany has been be a first small step toward the kind reforms, including legislation to a messy affair,” notes Wall Street of changes that are needed. give voters the power to recall Journal reporter John Fund. “But Although the long-run conse- incumbents. with the state government long quences of the turmoil are not yet It is fair to say that New York- hostage to its own arrogance, any clear, the reform agenda has not ers are not enchanted with those disruption raises a potential for been shelved. On July 17, the Sen- incumbents. A Quinnipiac Univer- positive change.” ate passed eight-year term limits on sity poll released June 22 shows Senate leaders that State Senator 69% of respondents disapproving Joseph Griffo had first introduced of the state legislature (although in 2007. 3 No Uncertain Terms 73 Spring Street • Suite 408 • New York, NY • 10012 Term Limits ILLINOIS Dan Carden, writing for the Chicago Daily Herald on the pros and cons of various reform ideas, offers the following objection to efforts to produce more competitive elections through reforms such as redistricting and term limits: “More candidates running in more-competitive races will require candidates to spend more money in election races.” So...moribund democracy is cheaper than the vital, thriving variety? If only the Founding Fathers had known.

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