Onondaga County officials are reminding voters to turn their ballot over on this Election Day. In addition to a statewide ballot regarding a project in the Adirondacks, people will find Onondaga County Proposition One, which would limit terms of county lawmakers.
Last summer, lawmakers agreed to let voters decide whether county legislators should be elected to four-year terms instead of two-year terms, with a limit of three consecutive terms.
“No official should sit down here for 20 years, in my opinion,” said county legislature chairman Tim Burtis. “And we just need people to be aware of that, if when you become a legislator, you'll have a little bit of time to get to know what to do. And then if you are able to be elected two other times, that after that, then it'll be time for somebody else to serve.”
Burtis also said it’s important that the proposition was a product of bipartisanship.
“I think it's meaningful that both sides feel like it's time not only for term limits so the legislators can know when you sign up for this how long you're gonna stay, and then also to give you more time to basically learn the position,” he said.
This referendum comes as the timetable for electing county legislators is going through a major change in Onondaga County and across New York. This is the last year town and county lawmakers will be elected during an odd year. The state’s even-year election law goes into effect next year, so local elections will coincide with presidential and gubernatorial elections which are held in even years.
Those even-year elections have dramatically higher voter turnout. Burtis said that means if voters approve the idea, those new term limits would apply to anyone running for county legislature next year. And he said other local governments are watching central New York to see whether voters like the idea of limiting the time an individual can serve in local legislatures.
“I believe this is what people want, and we’re going to find out,” he said”
Polls on Tuesday are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find results on many races here once the polls close.
