Yesterday, I presented you with a list of governmental reforms that many of us would like to see. The comments were quite interesting.
One person, likely a member of NorCo Council, attacked me for supporting term limits for county offices. I do believe term limits for state and federal office are way overdue. But the truth is that I never supported term limits on a county level and consider that a gray area. I would oppose them for offices like borough council or township supervisor because those offices pay very little but take up a lot of time. It is hard to attract good people. On the county level, I did support letting the people decide the question in a referendum. This was opposed by former Council members Kevin Lott, Ron Heckman and Tara Zrinski. It was also opposed by former Exec Lamont McClure, whose veto had to be overridden. One person suggested that a term limits bill should be called the Bob Freeman Act.
Most of you would like to see some form of open primaries but a few of you would limit voters to party members. I know that outfits like Working Families oppose open primaries and I think this is probably because the only way they can get one of their more extreme candidates nominated is through a closed primary.
One of you, a reader named Hoople, had a great idea. "If you cannot vote for a candidate - do not live in the area they will represent - you cannot contribute to their campaign. Exceptions for relatives - if your, for example, son is running for office and lives out the area, you can make a small donation to the campaign.
" "If you are a paid elected official and you vote for a tax increase, your pay is adjusted down by the percent you approved. 17% tax increase? Your pay takes a 17% cut.
"If you are a paid elected official, you cannot endorse candidates at campaign events. Writing an op-ed in support is sufficient. No more using a paid day to travel and rally for someone."
I've begun work on a post detailing elected officials who accept donations from their subordinates as well as people who have business interests with the municipality they represent. It is a fairly widespread pratice, but I consider it a form of soft corruption that should be banned. I expect to bring you that story in a day or two.
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