City Council to weigh term limits proposal

By BOB WILSON    Valley Press Staff Writer
February 20, 2001

PALMDALE - Members of the City Council, including the mayor, could be limited to eight years of service under a proposal scheduled to be discussed Wednesday by the city’s governing body.

 The move would affect only two of the five members seated on the panel: Mayor Jim Ledford, serving his fifth term as mayor, and Councilman Jim Root, elected to the council for a third time in November to complete the last year of a four-year term vacated by Shelly Sorsabal.

 The term-limit proposal has been raised for discussion by first term Councilman Rick Norris.

According to Norris, forcing membership changes upon the council “ensures that Palmdale’s vision of the future stays in tune with the desires of the community.”

“The benefits of term limits have been experienced nationwide,” Norris said in a written statement. “Palmdale needs to continually have new ideas and fresh representation on the City Council.”

“I believe that all of the council members, and even the mayor, will support this long-overdue measure,” he predicted.

That prediction may have been premature.

During a Monday briefing with the media, Ledford said the voters, not the council, should be vested with the power to decide who serves them and who does not.

“I don’t think elected officials should be making the decisions for the voters in this regard,” Ledford said. “I think term limits circumvent the ability of the voters to decide how well you are doing. If you’re not doing a good job, the voters will get rid of you.”

With limits in place, those elected to second terms would be inclined to serve themselves instead of the public, he said. “I think it’s better to keep your elected officials motivated and working to please the constituents.”

“It disturbs me that I haven’t heard an outcry (for term limits) from the constituents,” the mayor noted.

Instead, the call for such limits seems to be coming from those unable to defeat people that a majority of voters prefer, he said.

According to Valley Press archives, the idea of instituting term limits on Palmdale’s council first was put forward by Sandy Corrales in September 1997.

Corrales, who has lost three bids for a council seat, said Monday she was glad to see someone help carry her banner.

“I applaud the councilman for seeing and appreciating a good idea and following through on it,” she said of Norris. “I don’t want to see the council’s or mayor’s seats turned into careers.”

Asked if Norris’ proposal would be viewed as an act of last resort by those unable to defeat Ledford and Root, Corrales said no.

The public, as well as the other three members of the City Council, can offer opinions on the subject when the council meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, in the council’s chambers at 708 East Palmdale Blvd.