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Keep The Legislators’ Terms At Two Years

We understand the reasons why Chautauqua County legislators would want more time on the job between elections.

Elected officials serving two-year terms have long bemoaned the year it takes to learn the job only to spend the second year running for re-election. And, we’re sure there would be some cost savings to the county if the Board of Elections didn’t have to run as many elections for the legislature.

The strongest argument for keeping the length of a legislator’s term the same happened less than a year ago. The public, fed up with repeated attempts to sell the Chautauqua County Home, changed the dynamic of the legislature enough to sell the home and restore it to profitability in the hands of private ownership. Selling the home could have taken years longer were it not for voters being able to effect change in an election every two years.

We’re happy to see the process spelled out by the county charter prohibits fast action to change the length of a legislator’s term in office. If approved by the legislature, it would then be placed on the ballot in the November election and couldn’t take effect for another two years after it is approved. The county’s Charter and Code Review Commission is still working on a final recommendation on the issue. The timeline ensures a chance for public debate and for the public to approve the change in the voting booth.

Regardless of how the commission acts, we also hope this issue – while important – doesn’t dominate discussion in Mayville. The county faces some serious issues, not the least of which is a $6 million structural deficit; stunning job losses, particularly in the north county; mounting drug problems in both ends of the county; creating and implementing a North County Water District; and building a sewer system around Chautauqua Lake.

In the grand scheme of things, the term limit debate should be pretty low on the priority list for legislators.

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