{"id":1363,"date":"2016-09-01T14:20:09","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T18:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/?p=1363"},"modified":"2016-09-01T14:20:09","modified_gmt":"2016-09-01T18:20:09","slug":"is-it-time-for-term-limits-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/01\/is-it-time-for-term-limits-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it time for term limits?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Voting\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Is it time for term limits for local elected officials here in New Jersey? As the time for voting draws nigh I note that here in New Jersey we have too many fiefdoms with mayors and\/or elected officials who have been in office for a decade or more. They become insulated from the people they represent because they do not worry about the electorate\u2019s concerns and only think about what they want to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Governor Christie back in 2012 proposed term limits and said of them<\/a>, \u201cThe idea that opponents of term limits say \u2013 well, we don\u2019t need term limits \u2013 we have term limits -they\u2019re called elections \u2013 is ridiculous in practice because a lot of these folks just can\u2019t lose\u2026I don\u2019t understand why it is that they say we\u2019re going to lose all kinds of experience if we do this.\u00a0 Well, they don\u2019t worry about that with the President, they restrict the President to 2 terms.\u00a0 They don\u2019t worry about that with the Governor.\u00a0 The Governor is restricted to 2 terms\u2026Is the Legislature really more valuable than the President of the United States, more valuable than the Governor of New Jersey?<\/em>\u201d I think that he was right then and now, but I also know that term limits need to be extended to every elected government official throughout the state of New Jersey.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Many mayors\/elected officials have been prosecuted over the years for corruption and the Governor also has seen this as New Jersey\u2019s US Attorney. What he said is that \u201cwe wound up putting 10 percent of the state Legislature in jail.\u00a0 During my 7 years, we convicted 132 public officials \u2013 Republicans and Democrats while I was U.S. Attorney \u2013 without a defeat in any public corruption cases.\u00a0 I absolutely believe that term limits would help, because I think the longer people are there the more entitled they become \u2013 the more entitled they feel\u2026I believe there should be term limits for everybody and I think putting new blood into government on a regular basis will make sense<\/em>.\u201d The big problem is that the same people who we want to enact term limits are the same ones that are benefiting from having no term limits. So why in the world would they want to change the rules when they would soon be out of office?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Looking around my local area here in Central New Jersey there are mayors who have been in office for a decade or more such as in the municipalities of North Brunswick, South Brunswick and the city of New Brunswick to name just a small number. If you take a look at this chart<\/a>, you will see how many states do have term limits. It is well past time to put these people out of office and for fresh blood with new ideas who will listen to their constituents to take over.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The big question is how do we get term limits enacted? Well the only thing that can be done is to exert political pressure on the Legislature until they act. So you the voter have some work cut out for yourselves if you want term limits. If you want the corruption to continue on, then just sit there and do nothing. Do not complain anymore about your elected officials either and maybe you should think about leaving this state because you surely do not really care about it!<\/span><\/p>\n

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That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike<\/span><\/p>\n