The Truth and History About Term Limits In Colorado and America
By Bill Sparkman
Ballot Issue 1A will appear on the Douglas County Ballot in just a couple of weeks. It provides the Douglas County Sheriff, presently limited to 2 Terms in office, to Run For A 3rd Term. I am writing this in Support of YES ON 1A and encourage all Douglas County Citizens to do the same.
This article should explain the history and results of the 1994 Term Limit Amendment to the Colorado Constitution and why 90% of the counties have either extended or eliminated Term Limits on their Sheriffs.
There was so much passion and un-enchantment with the “Old Corps” Legislatures in D.C. in 1994, that the People of Colorado not only tried to place Term Limits on their U.S. Congress representatives (which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but proceeded to place Term Limits on all Elected Officials in Colorado.
At that time however, no one really knew what the results would be until several cycles of Term Outs occurred. THEN THE TRUTH CAME OUT!
Term Limits Have Failed across the United States. Of the 23 States who originally joined Colorado to place Term Limits on their Elected Officials, 17 of the States have now “Officially” reversed their decision and removed Term Limits on those Elected Officials (in much the same way that they passed an amendment for Prohibition, and then soon after, writing another amendment eliminating Prohibition). The Law of Unintended Consequences.
There are some pretty good reasons listed below, which will be noted in the future as “The Law Of Unintended Consequences”. Here’s a link to a 2007 Denver Post Article entitled “Term Limits Have Failed”, which many people in Colorado evidently read, as seen in the elimination or extension of Term Limits on their Sheriffs in 56 out of 62 Counties. The article was very insightful and led to further research on the aftermath of the 1994 vote for term limits. http://www.denverpost.com/haley/ci_9124955?source=rssfeeddigest
That research led to a very interesting book entitled The Case Of Term Limits, published by The University Of Michigan Press and revised in 2010, which can be purchased at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Institutional-Change-American-Politics-Limits/dp/0472069942 and is the first in-depth analysis of the effects of the 1994 Term Limit frenzy. Written by scholars, it provides survey data on the institutional effects of Term Limits. There is no speculation, simply statistal information given that confirms that Term Limits have failed.
Without giving away too much of the results (buy the book to discover the truth), The Law Of Unintended Consequences of the 1994 passage of Term Limits did 2 things that stand out; increased the power of Governors and Lobbyists, while diminishing the effects of the State Legislatures.
Fortunately, there were only 85,000 people in Douglas County who actually had the opportunity to vote on Term Limits in 1994. With today’s population of 285,000 people in Douglas County, 200,000 Douglas County Residents neither Voted For or Against Term Limits, so it’s alright to use common sense, logic, and reason to discover the truth.
And DC ProLaw has provided the opportunity of Douglas County Citizens to use their Unalienable Rights to Choose and Vote for their choice of Sheriffs, without the constraints of Term Limits.
When you have a Sheriff that has created Safety and an Excellent Law Enforcement Office and will soon become the 26th Triple Crown Sheriffs Office in the United States, out of 3084 Sheriff Offices, it is logical to say YES ON 1A.
It’s also a great opportunity for the citizens of Douglas County to become the 57th County in Colorado, out of 62 with Elected Sheriffs to declare their Unalienable Rights of Choice and Right to choose who they want to be their Sheriff.
DC ProLaw’s ONLY ISSUE and GOAL is to give the Citizens of Douglas County the opportunity to have their Sheriff RUN (HE HAS TO TAKE ON ALL COMERS, BUT HE CAN BE ON THE BALLOT) for one more Term In Office, just like the other 56 Counties (90%) who have either Eliminated (46 Counties) or Extended to 3 Terms (10 Counties) Term Limits on their Sheriffs.
And what did the Founding Fathers of The Constitution think about Term Limits.
"The People are the best judges who ought to represent them!
To dictate and control them, to tell them whom they shall not elect,
is to abridge their natural rights!"
- Robert Livingston, Writer of The Declaration of Independence.
The Founding Fathers obviously believed Term Limits unacceptable, preferring to provide the people the Power of Their Vote to determine the length of time their representatives could serve in office.
Enough so, they left them out of The Constitution and wanted the People to use their Vote to decide who would enter the Elected Offices. However, both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, both stepped down after two terms, setting an unwritten protocol which was adhered to until Franklin Roosevelt, who ran for President 4 times. Upon his death, the 22nd Amendment was passed, limiting all future Presidents to 2 Terms In Office.
In closing, it might be suitable to remind everyone that cumulatively, Washington, Hamilton, and Madison spent 88 years in service to America. Thank Goodness they did!
The Citizens of Douglas County have the Right and Opportunity to exercise their Freedom and their Right To Choose the Best Candidate for Sheriff and Elect that Candidate to office using the most powerful tool Americans have at their disposal - THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE!
VOTE YES ON 1A.
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