City council mulls term limits proposal

Give the people a vote on whether to impose term limits on Topeka's mayor and city council, Councilman Brendan Jensen said this past week.

"The idea is to give the voters the opportunity to tell us if that's something they want," he said at Tuesday's meeting of the Topeka City Council.

But the voters already have the power to limit council members' terms — by voting them out if they're not happy with them, replied Sylvia Ortiz, the longest-serving member in the history of the council, who has been on that body since 2005.

"I trust and believe in the people," Ortiz said. "If the people don't want the person in there, they're not going to be in there."

Ortiz and Jensen voiced their views as the city's mayor and council discussed a proposal initiated by the council's policy and finance committee that would schedule a citywide ballot question election to take place Nov. 3, 2020, on whether to place limits on the number of terms the mayor and council members may serve.

The proposal, if approved by Topeka voters, would prohibit council members from being elected to more than two consecutive four-year terms in office, while providing an exemption for those who serve a partial term.

The measure would also disqualify council members and the mayor from further service if they have served terms totaling 16 consecutive years in their specific office, though they could serve again after a break of at least two years.

Service resulting from elections occurring prior to Nov. 3, 2020, would not count toward the total number of years a person could serve. If approved, the limits would only apply to elections taking place after that date.

An examination of the matters involved was initiated last spring by the council's policy and finance committee, which asked city staff members to conduct research and prepare potential revisions, said that committee's chairman, Councilman Jeff Coen.

The mayor and council last considered imposing term limits in 2010, when they voted 8-2 to reject that, he said.

A document in the agenda packet for Tuesday's meeting said city staff members surveyed the top 10 cities in Kansas by population, aside from Topeka, and learned that two had term limits for members of their governing body.

Those were Wichita and Hutchinson. In both, members are limited to two consecutive four-year terms, the document said.

It indicated term limits are not present in Kansas City, Kan., Lawrence, Lenexa, Manhattan, Olathe, Overland Park, Salina and Shawnee.

City staff members also looked at Kansas City, Mo., and the capital cities in states surrounding Kansas, the document said.

It indicated that:

• Oklahoma City and Des Moines do not have term limits.

• The mayor and council in Kansas City, Mo., are limited to two consecutive four-year terms.

• The mayor and council in Denver are limited to three consecutive four-year terms.

• The mayor is limited to two consecutive four-year terms in Jefferson City, Mo., where the council is limited to four consecutive two-year terms.

• The mayor is limited to three consecutive four-year terms in Lincoln, Neb., where there are no term limits for council members.

"Yes" votes from seven of the 10 members of Topeka's governing body would be required to arrange the proposed ballot question election.

Four governing body members — Mayor Michelle De La Isla and council members Coen, Jensen and Sandra Clear — voiced support for that move at Tuesday's meeting, while Councilman Mike Lesser suggested he could support scheduling the vote but hoped to see the measure amended to limit the mayor and council members to three four-year terms instead of two.

Three council members — Ortiz, Karen Hiller and Tony Emerson — said they were opposed to the proposal.

Councilman Mike Padilla didn't take a side while the council's District 7 seat — held by Aaron Mays until he left the council Monday to join the Shawnee County Commission — sat vacant. The mayor and council are expected to choose Mays' replacement next month.

The term limits proposal will come back onto the council's agenda at a later date, which hasn't yet been set, said Molly Hadfield, the city's media relations director.