________________________________________
Term limits for city councillors?
Last Updated: Jan 30 2006 05:12 PM CST
Had enough of your city councillor? The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is promoting the idea of limiting the amount of time municipal politicians can occupy their council seats.
Chamber president Dave Angus says two four-year terms should be enough for city councillors, adding that term limits would bring excitement and new ideas by attracting new faces to council races.
"There's a huge barrier to entry when it comes to running for city council, and that's the power of name recognition and the power of incumbency. People, I feel, really don't feel that they have a chance at winning," Angus told CBC News.
"We look to term limits to try to rectify that, to try to change how people look at the role of the city councillor – [from] city council as one of career versus one of, really, a mission of providing public service for a certain length of time.
Some city councillors, however, are not thrilled with the idea of term limits.
Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, who has been on council for seven years, says eight years is an arbitrary time limit, and would kick people out just as they were becoming most effective.
"Mayor [Rudolph] Giuliani in New York, for example – he had to quit two months after 9/11 because his eight years was up. He was probably the most popular mayor in the world in the middle of a crisis," Gerbasi said.
"The other thing is that experience can be a good thing to a point," she added. "When you're first elected, you know absolutely nothing. In your second term, you're just finding your feet."
Gerbasi admits there is a problem with council being "stagnant." Eight other councillors have been in their chairs for as long as Gerbasi or even longer. Three councillors have held their seats for more than 20 years.