First, it was the Tacoma City Council asking voters to do away with term limits — a proposition Tacoma wisely rejected last month. Now it’s the Pierce County Council’s turn.



On Tuesday, Dec. 2, the Pierce County Council voted 5-2 to approve two proposed amendments to the Pierce County Charter — the most controversial of which would let members elected to the council serve three consecutive four-year terms, instead of the two they’re currently allowed.



With Tuesday’s decision, the Pierce County Council now puts the final decision in the hands of voters, who will weigh in on the matter next November.



What’s the rationale for such a move, you may ask. Good question.



According to the five members of the Pierce County Council who voted in favor of tweaking term limits — and only (D) Tim Farrell and (D) Calvin Goings voted against the idea — the reasons supporting the change are many. A majority of current members of the County Council seem to think giving council members four more years of possible service would help them be more effective. There’s also a train of thought that says that — as it stands now — members of the council have trouble reaching a level of seniority on regional boards because they’re limited to only eight years before having to find a new line of work. That affects the flow of federal money to Pierce County, proponents of extending term limits say.



But that’s all crap.



The truth is, while ideologically speaking democracy should take care of politicians not worth their salt, and should elect those who are, that’s not usually how it works. As long as there have been politics, there have been ineffective and corrupt politicians that will do almost anything to keep their power. Term limits prevent this abuse — at least a little.

But tweaking term limits on the Pierce County Council has far bigger implications — and something tells this hack writer that the Republican majority on the council knew exactly what they were doing by signing off on the idea. You see, when 2010 rolls around, both Shawn Bunney and Terry Lee will have served two terms. As the County Charter reads today, that means they’ll both be out on their asses — whether they like it or not. The seats they now occupy on the council will be open, meaning a new Republican and a new Democrat will be vying for them.   



It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the Republicans will have a far better chance of maintaining their majority if they’re running with incumbents rather than two newbs. In fact, it’s safe to assume that if Terry Lee isn’t allowed to run for his District 7 seat next time, it will be gobbled up by a Democrat. Mark my words.



That’s a scary thought for Republicans on the council. One way to stop it from happening, of course, would be to extend term limits — which is exactly what’s behind this move.