I’ve covered Florida politics for a while, but if there’s a good debate about time limits, I haven’t heard of it. Duration restrictions are a dull anti-democratic tool that rewards lazy voters and further utilizes partisans and special interests to our society. So why do Floridians continue to return to the wells with bad thoughts?
Florida has already imposed term limits on several high state offices, including two years for governor and cabinet members, four consecutive terms of office, and eight years for Florida’s home and Senate members. In 2022, the legislature restricted county board members to a 12-year term, and the following year lowered the cap to eight years. About half of Florida’s larger counties limit the terms of county commissioners from eight to 12 years, with many areas limiting the terms of mayors and council members. These restrictions are often burned and accepted in the Florida political system, and it is unlikely that voters will loosen or abandon them.
But now, Tallahassee lawmakers are taking it a step further. Senator Blaise Ingoglia of R-Spring Hill sponsors two laws that will limit the statewide referendum. They will embarrass an eight-year term for the county commissioners of the state constitution and members of the school board. Another constitutional change will curb gross legislative services in 2016. Supporters say the move will support the spirit of time limits by preventing politicians from jumping between their seats and restarting the clock during their tenure. The measure passes through the committee and, if approved by Congress, will appear in the vote in November 2026.
Few so-called political reforms have achieved intellectual passes like period restrictions. There are two pitches behind them. Limited terms in Florida bring new blood and fresh ideas to the democratic process. It all sounds great, but it’s completely two-tiered.
First, the time limit simply forces politicians to be more creative in misusing revolving doors. Incumbents will continue to be selected by moving between seats, sitting in elections, running for other state and local offices, bankrolling their name IDs and continuing new candidates. See the horde of former lawmakers returning from Tallahassee to the six-figure post as county commissioners, election chiefs and other local officials. The duration limit did not open the pipeline and the clogs were moved. If you need a better candidate, remove the power of gerrymandered incumbents in Florida’s political districts. It would make the election more competitive overnight.
Secondly, why are we looking for fresh ideas when it’s an important idea? A few years ago I worked for an editor full of fresh ideas, and they were all drunk. As your mental exercise progresses, fresh ideas are fine. But equating them with good policies is another example of how our political system is becoming stupid. Last year, the first candidate for the Florida home proposed lowering property premiums by choosing to insure homeowners of walls and roofs. It was a fresh idea – and, completely ridiculous, an argument like an illicit argument where the term is invited by implying that new faces and ideas are golden.
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But my issue with time limits is not simply the practicality of making them work. There is no business in the government that we cannot elect or tell people or me. A wise qualification in the office is fine, such as age and residency requirements. You cannot live in the UK or Stark state prisons. But aside these minimal standards, it’s my vote and my choice.
Ingoglia’s laws are especially bothering voters in Panama City and all places to pass constitutional amendments that ull candidate areas for my Tampa hometown, as it makes the path clear. What’s more, can anyone show that the time limit has improved Florida’s democracy over time?
The time limit also has an insidiously corrosive effect by slandering experiences in the political realm and casting all doubts about careers in government. How did you embrace the contradiction of lifetime appointments promoting strong and independent judiciary, while periods keep politicians honest? Why not apply this same bias to lifespan to other occupations? For example, for dentists, mechanics, and airline pilots?
I’m not always proud of the people I voted for, but I’ve always made the choice to work for myself, winning and losing. Isn’t that the ideal behind one person?
