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Length Of Term To Be Decided In Vote

We have spoken out often against the never-ending request to lengthen the term of office for local elected representatives as well as the repeat recommendations of salary commissions to raise the pay for elected officials at both the city and county levels.

It will be very interesting to see, then, if county residents support propositions to change the terms of Chautauqua County legislators from two years to four years and to raise the pay for elected county officials.

Legislators have laid out the same arguments for longer terms that county residents have been hearing for decades; two years isn’t long enough to learn the intricacies of county business and that the legislature would get more done if legislators weren’t running for office every other year. The case for increasing salaries, meanwhile, is even more specious – it takes more money to find better candidates for elected office.

Some, we are sure, are tired of hearing the same arguments over and over again. We certainly are. That’s why legislators made the right decision to put the issues up before the public in November. A presidential election cycle should result in higher-than-usual voter turnout this November, meaning the will of county residents is represented.

We hope, though, if the answer is no on the referendum votes that the issues are removed from the public agenda for a while in favor of discussions that result in lower taxes for taxpayers or more jobs for county residents.

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