Arlington group finishes term limits suggestions that some say disrespect 2018 vote

Tensions among Term Limits Advisory Committee members in Arlington came to a head Thursday as the group finalized its recommendations to the city council for a less stringent set of restrictions on the city’s elected leaders.

The group voted to limit the mayor and city council members to four two-year terms, followed by a cooling-off period during which they could not seek re-election. The committee also voted to recommend eliminating the current 12-year combined maximum that someone may serve on the council and as mayor. Council members will field the recommendations at their next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 4.

The council will decide whether the alternative term limits will go on a ballot during a future election. The council has until Aug. 17 to put the issue on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election.

The committee arrived at the 12-10 vote in favor of eliminating lifetime limits after nearly two and a half hours of discussion, as some raised concerns a lifetime ban would negate the purpose of term limits.

“If we vote to never have any sort of lifetime limit whatsoever, that is outside the charge that the city council has given us not to eliminate term limits entirely,” said Andy Prior.

Assistant City Attorney Molly Shortall said the option falls under the umbrella of the city’s discussion.

“Term limits come in a variety of flavors,” she said.

Citing Prior’s research and comments made in previous meetings, which found that council members in recent years served an average of seven-and-a-half years, committee member David Schwarte said there’s no need for a lifetime ban.

“That suggests to me, looking at the data, that we haven’t had a problem with council members,” he said.

By a larger margin, the committee voted 15-7 to allow council members and the mayor four terms. As votes were cast, members in their comments debated whether their votes were in line with public comments, both written and verbal, the majority of which favored existing term limits.

“Whether it takes effect is up to the voters to decide,” Schwarte said.

Ray Whitworth, who voted against four terms, said those voting in favor are “spitting in the eye of the voters who’ve already decided on this issue.”

All but one of those who delivered public comments urged the committee to respect the 2018 vote that saw 61% of more than 98,000 voters approve the limits of three two-year terms.

“We want change,” said Frank Antonelli. “We want the people that are in there out in six years.”

One person said the committee’s existence is the very reason why term limits are not necessary.

“This is a single issue, and it’s very complex,” he said.

Thursday’s meeting was the last of four sessions the committee held over a two-week period. At the behest of committee members, the group’s final report will include full voting results. It will not, despite multiple members’ requests, include a narrative majority and minority report.

“There should be an explanation behind the vote, not a simple tally,” Whitworth said.

The committee was formed by a city council resolution, a 7-2 vote that members of the group that garnered more than 11,000 petition signatures to force the 2018 term limits vote said was an affront to the election’s outcome.

Meanwhile, Mayor Jeff Williams and other council members said the 2018 vote offered only a binary choice that now holds Arlington to one of the strictest sets of term limits in Texas.

Committee member Jessica Black said she’s one of many who voted for the original term limits as a starting point for future debate, knowing that residents could change the charter by vote every two years.

“I know a lot of people in Arlington that felt the same way — that the term limits weren’t perfect, that they were a starting point,” she said.

Other committee members including Wes Maness said the true choice is, again, up to the voters.

“I just don’t understand the opposition to letting the voters reject this,” he said.