Temecula Voters Might Weigh In On City Council Term Limits

Temecula CA

14 February, 2022

9:57 PM

Description

TEMECULA, CA — The Temecula City Council voted unanimously to further discuss a suggestion that its members have term limits. On Feb. 8, council members voted 5-0 to form a sub-committee that will hash out the details of what a possible 2022 ballot initiative on term limits might look like. Council members Jessica Alexander and Maryann Edwards were appointed to serve on the committee. The two voiced opposing ideas on term limits. The issue of term limits was brought forward by Alexander (District 2), who is the newest member on the council. She was elected to her post by Temecula voters in 2020. Using examples established at the federal level, Alexander said lack of term limits prevents new blood and fresh ideas. "We need new people in here," she said, adding that without term limits opportunity for other Temecula voices is "choked out." Temecula has no term limits for its five-member City Council — members may run for re-election to four-year terms as many times as they would like. They receive a small monthly stipend, but no salary, for personal expenses incurred on behalf of the city. There are health care and other benefits for council members. Some members have served on the Temecula City Council for years. For example, Edwards (District 3) has sat on the dais since 2005. She was appointed to her post following the vacancy created when Council Member Jeff Stone was elected to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. She successfully ran for re-election four times and has served as Temecula's Mayor four times. Her current term expires this year. Edwards said placing term limits on council members takes away the voice of Temecula voters. Citizens should have the opportunity to vote for — or vote out — any council member, she said. "We should not limit peoples' votes," Edwards explained, arguing that voting-by-district has already quashed individual voters' ability to elect their entire council. Edwards also argued that an understanding of city, county and state government is learned over time and is important to do the job well. "Experience matters," she said. There hasn't been a successful push by Temeculans to put the issue of term limits on the ballot. Mayor Matt Rahn (District 1) has served on the City Council since 2014, while Mayor Pro Tem Zak Schwank (District 5) has served since 2018. Their current terms expire this year. Temecula is "remarkably nimble" and "moves at a highly efficient speed" to get things done, which is why residents are happy with the city and why there is no big push to enact term limits, Rahn said. Like Rahn, Schwank said he believes in term limits, but warned that careful discussion was warranted. "There is a sense of cohesiveness," Schwank said of current city operations. But he added, "Our city is changing." There is greater diversity and a younger demographic, he explained. James "Stew" Stewart (District 4) was elected to the City Council in 2016 and resigned his seat amid controversy in the spring of 2020. He successfully ran for re-election later that year and won by a wide margin. His current term expires in 2024. During the Feb. 8 meeting, he said he is in favor of term limits, but offered that experience is important and getting work done can take more than just a couple of terms. "Eight years is not enough time to push a major agenda item," he said. Corona, Hemet, Indian Wells, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, and Perris are the only Riverside County cities that have established term limits. State senators and assembly members all have term limits, while there are no such constraints for seats on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. A timeline on when Alexander and Edwards might bring something back to City Council for consideration was not discussed during the Feb. 8 meeting.