El Paso voters wake up to term limits swindle

Busted!

It appears many El Paso voters woke up surprised that they had voted to weaken their 8-year term limits law to a 12-year limit. Now there is a move afoot to reexamine that vote, in light of the fact that El Paso County appears to be the only place in America where term limits lost on Nov. 2.

Commissioner-elect Darryl Glenn told the Colorado Springs Gazette he plans to hold a public meeting in January to determine if the voters were fooled by the deceptive language of the referendum.

As reported earlier here, the El Paso politicians used a common titling and language trick that led voters to believe they were limiting terms, when in fact they were weakening them. County politicians acknowledged to the Colorado Springs Independent that they had chosen their wording "strategically." Then, after the ruse had come fully to light, they dug themselves a deeper hole by admitting to the Gazette they copied the scheme from other counties.

In other words, instead of using simple language explaining that a yes vote would lengthen the existing term limits from two to three terms (eight to 12 years), the politicians admit they sought out deceptive language that "worked" elsewhere.

Well, it did work. So far...

2010 ELECTIONS -- Citizens embrace term limits nationwide, Congressional pledgers win

It was another banner election year for term limits.

Across the nation on Nov. 2, voters approved new term limits or defended or strengthened existing ones at the state and local level. Plus, about a dozen signers of the U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge won their Congressional races and will be pushing for term limits in the new Congress.

By signing the U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge, Congress members committed to "cosponsor and vote for" Congressional term limits along the lines of Sen. Jim DeMint's existing term limits amendment bill. DeMint's bill calls for limits of three terms (six years) for the House and two (12 years) for the Senate.

Signers who won include Dave Schweikert (AZ-5), David Rivera (FL-25), Michael Pompeo (KS-4), John Sullivan (OK-1), Frank Lucas (OK-3), Tom Coburn (OK-SEN), Tim Scott (SC-1), Jeff Duncan (SC-3), Mick Mulvaney (SC-5) and Ralph Hall (TX-4). Two races involving term limits pledgers have not been decided as of this writing, Joe Walsh (IL-8) and Rocky Raczkowski (MI-9).

Of all the 2010 term limits referenda I know about, term limits won 34 out of 35 jurisdictions. (If any referenda escaped my notice, please let me know.) Interestingly, this is a similar result as 2008, an election in which Democrats were ascendant.

2010 TERM LIMITS REFERENDA RESULTS

DOWNER'S GROVE, IL -- Referendum to limit mayor to two 4-year terms and commissioners to three (advisory only)
YES 84% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 16%

BOULDER CITY, NV -- Limits city council members to three terms in office
YES 71% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 29%

BOULDER CITY, NV -- Limits appointees of city committees to three terms
YES 60% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 40%

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL -- Limits terms of mayor and council members to two consecutive 4-year terms
YES 69.5% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 30.50%

CHAFFEE COUNTY, CO -- Would eliminate the term limit on the district attorney
YES 41%
NO 59% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

CLINTON COUNTY, VT -- Would abolish term limits for Clinton County legislators
YES 28.46%
NO 71.54% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX -- Increases waiting time from two to six years for politicians termed out of office to run again for the same seat
YES 63% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 37%

EAGLE COUNTY, CO -- Weakens term limits from two to three 4-year terms
YES 31%
NO 69% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

EL PASO COUNTY, CO -- Weakens term limits from two to three 4-year terms
YES 60%
NO 40% -- TERM LIMITS LOSE

FARRAGUT, TN -- Limits official to two terms in a single office, three in any office
YES 91.5% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 8.5%

FULLERTON, CA -- Limits council members to three 4-year terms
YES 79.8% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 20.2%

HEMET, CA -- No elected official can serve more than three 4-year terms in their life
YES 89% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 11%

INDIAN WELLS, CA -- Limits mayor and council to two consecutive 4-year terms
YES 79.25% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 20.75%

KIT CARSON COUNTY, CO -- Abolishes term limit on district attorney
YES 29%
NO 71% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

LAGUNA HILLS, CA -- Limits city council members to two 4-year terms
YES 74.4% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 25.6%

LOGAN COUNTY, CO -- Eliminates term limit on district attorney
YES 30%
NO 70% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

LOOMIS, CA -- Limits town council members to two consecutive 4-year terms
YES 55.4% -- TERM LIMITS WIN
NO 44.6%

MENIFEE, CA -- Limits council members to two consecutive 4-year terms
YES 81.7% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 18.3%

MORGAN COUNTY, CO -- Eliminates term limit on district attorney
YES 26%
NO 74% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

MULTNOMAH COUNTY, OR -- Abolishes county term limit of two 4-year terms in any 12-year period
YES 49%
NO 51% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

MURIETTA, CA -- Limits council members to two consecutive 4-year terms
YES 67% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 33%

NAPERVILLE, IL -- Limits mayor and council members to three consecutive 4-year terms
YES 72% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 28%

NEW MEXICO (STATEWIDE)
Would permit county commissioners to serve three consecutive terms instead of two
YES 17.5%
NO 82.5% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

NEW YORK CITY, NY -- Reestablishes term limits on mayor and council members of two consecutive 4-year terms
YES 74% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 26%

OKLAHOMA (STATEWIDE) -- Sets lifetime term limit for governor and other statewide officials to two 4-year terms
YES 69.88% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 30.12%

PARK COUNTY, CO -- Would eliminate the term limit on the district attorney
YES 31%
NO 69% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

PHILLIPS COUNTY, CO -- Eliminates term limit on district attorney
YES 34%
NO 66% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

ROSEVILLE, CA -- Would weaken council term limits to three from two 4-year terms
YES 31%
NO 69% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

SAN DIEGO, CA -- Limits terms of county supervisors to two 4-year terms (on primary ballot June 2010)
YES 69% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 31%

SANTA CLARA, CA -- Limits water district members to three terms
YES 75.37% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 24.63%

SEDGWICK COUNTY, CO -- Eliminates term limit on district attorney
YES 39%
NO 61% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

STOW, OH -- Limits city council to two 4-year terms
YES 75% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 25%

STOW, OH -- Limits city finance director to two 4-year terms
YES 73% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!
NO 27%

WASHINGTON COUNTY, CO -- Eliminates term limit on district attorney
YES 32%
NO 68% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

YUMA COUNTY, CO -- Abolishes existing term limit on district attorney
YES 35%
NO 65% -- TERM LIMITS WIN!

Crime does pay in El Paso County

Are El Paso County voters the only voters in America who don’t support term limits?

It appears so. A review of term limits referenda around the country shows that term limits – either new term limits or reiterating or strengthening existing ones – passed everywhere they appeared on the ballot on Nov. 2 except in this Colorado county.


But looking closer, it turns out there is more to the story. It turns out that the ballot language was carefully written and promoted to confuse the voters into thinking that a vote for the anti-term limits referendum was a vote for term limits. In reality, the measure weakened the county commissioners’ term limit from two to three terms, giving them an extra four years in office at $87,300 per.


Hence, anti-term limits commissioners like Dennis Hisey and Sallie Clark, pictured, stand to pocket about $350,000 plus perks from their election day swindle.

The Colorado Springs Independent reports that county politicians “acknowledged they worded the measures strategically, asking whether officials should be limited to three terms. Unlike previous ballot measures, the questions didn't mention they're already limited to two terms."

State Sen. Ed Jones, a former El Paso county commissioner, said the measure was "disgusting" and "a slap in the face" of voters. City Councilman Darryl Glenn called it “misleading.” Former state representative Michael Merrifield told the Independent, "the way the question was posed made it sound like they were going to limit terms when in fact they are extending them."

No doubt. We’ve seen this trick before. In California in 2008, after losing twice at the ballot box already, an anti-term limits measure was crafted and marketed in a way suggesting that a yes vote would be a vote for term limits. In early polling, over 55% supported the measure. But in the course of the campaign the voters realized the trick, the polling flipped and Proposition 93 ended up losing by around 55%. In El Paso County, voters didn't get the message in time.

So, no, one can’t say El Paso is different because their voters oppose term limits. They are different because, in the year of the Tea Party, they are one county in America where the corrupt establishment Republicans won.