Eliminate Term Limits

It is no secret in Tallahassee that term limits have not been what they were cracked up to be. Imposed by voters in the late 90s, the idea had its appeal to voters across the spectrum. Since then, though, we have seen only a growth in the influence of lobbyists, a steady drum beat of corruption and a sad state of affairs where no decent lawmaker can make a difference before getting escorted into retirement.

I covered the Legislature in 2000, the first year the true effects of term limits were felt. Back then, so many new lawmakers were coming to town that Tom Feeney had them all where name tags with pictures. The House at the time still had its share of long-timers waiting to be wiped out by the full effects of the law in 2002, but already the problems were making themselves known. Rookie lawmakers were won over by big ideas that had shallow supporting facts. I know one lawmaker who voted for a bill that would allow dirty water to be injected into the aquifer, and within days had turned his position around as he got new facts. How did this happen? It was just too easy for lobbyists to convince lawmakers of anything just long enough for them to cast a vote.

In the coming decade, the Senate would increasingly become frustrated with terms. This body will always have the most experience just because so many House members move from one Chamber to the other, but the fact Senators with less than a decade of experience can seem long in the tooth in Tallahassee shows an enormous problem.

Rick Kriseman in St. Pete is trying to improve the situation by lengthening the terms of lawmakers and making their stays in Tallahassee a little bit longer. But with all due respect, this isn't enough.

For any change to happen, there must be a voter-approved amendment to the Constitution. And if you are going through the expense of a campaign convincing voters term limits are bad, you may as well fix the problem entirely.

We need to eliminate term limits entirely.

I know this is a touch sell. And I realize pointing at chambers full of incompetent or outright corrupt lawmakers is not something which instinctively makes people desire career politicians. But it is important people understand the fundamental reasons why Tallahassee is broken.

Most legislators in Tallahassee are generally good people. Even the ones whose agendas are bad are there with good intentions. But they simply don't know what they are doing. The incompetence is a byproduct of ignorance, not stupidity. Perhaps lawmakers would be less inclined to believe glossy PowerPoint presentations by high-priced lobbyists if they had the savvy to tell basic facts from bullshit slides. That comes with time, not training.

It also comes with years of communicating with constituents, which is where I think Kriseman might have something wrong. There are problems with the year-round campaign cycle, but a good thing about having House members up for vote every two years is that they have to face the music back home for good and bad choices. I don't really want to lose that, especially when I see potential for Democrats in the coming campaign cycle to make real inroads for the first time in years.

But I also don't want to see good lawmakers lost. If a public servant, regardless of their political philosophies, is representing his or her constituency well and delivering good government practice, then they shouldn't get tossed after eight or 12 years just for getting re-elected too many times.

Our problem is that lawmakers stick around too short a time, not too long. We have a Senate President right now who never served in Tallahassee before 2000, when that first heavy freshman class I was talking about first arrived at the Capitol. But Mike Haridopolos is an old-timer compares to House Speaker Dean Cannon, who just arrived in Tallahassee in 2004. Mix that in with a new Governor and a Cabinet full of folks in their first years at their current jobs and you have a mess of inexperience and brash reactionaries.

So I am sorry Rep. Kriseman. Your intentions are correct, but your solution is short-sighted. Maybe if you had a little more experience...