I am totally opposed to any codified restrictions or term limits for elected officials, because a perfectly adequate method for regulating the duration that someone holds office already exists. It is called voting. 

At every election, by exercising their right to vote, the people get to choose whom they want to represent them and for how long that person should remain in office. This very important choice should not be determined by some arbitrary limits. Staggered terms are a two-edged sword in that they create a situation where the voters have no option to keep a good team in office or conduct a “clean sweep” to effect a complete change in the way their government is being run. 

The argument that staggard terms will minimize the loss of “institutional memory” and make government work better is specious. In the last election, we have all seen that some of the neophyte legislators hit the ground running, doing their due diligence homework and acting as agents of needed change. Other legislators—whether held over or new—continue to “work” (and I use the term advisedly) with plodding indifference— or worse, with deliberate intent to disrupt the orderly process of governing—perpetuating harmful policies and/or blocking needed reforms that can change the way county government operates to best serve the needs of the people. 

Leave the power with the people! They know what they want, and with unfettered voting, they can choose whomever they want to work for them, and for how long their choice remains in office to serve. Both rights are too precious to lose, and I hope many people will speak to this point at the September 5 public hearing, 8:45 a.m. at the Government Center’s Legislative Hearing Room. Let your voice be heard. 

Star D. Hesse, Sullivan County resident, taxpayer and Senior Legislative Action Committee member

Narrowsburg, NY