Time To Talk Term Limits
With all due deference to seniority in public office, recent events have me thinking more about the value of term limits. The issue comes to mind as the Connecticut political world waits while U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd and Gov. Jodi Rell decide whether they will once again seek the nomination of their parties to run again.
Tradition usually dictates that if an incumbent wants to run for re-election, all other candidates stand aside to avoid an intra-party fight for the nomination. In the last 50 years, that has been the standard in Connecticut with three notable exceptions on the Democratic side that probably changed history.
A challenge by Lt. Gov. Robert Killian against Ella Grasso led to her re-election and the 10- year administration of Gov. William O’Neill. A 1990 challenge by former Congressman Bruce Morrison to O’Neill led, in part, to the election of Lowell Weicker. The third was the 2006 challenge by Ned Lamont to Joseph Lieberman, which led to Lieberman’s election as an independent.
This kind of unsportsmanlike conduct in politics should probably be encouraged rather than discouraged in the name of competition. The practice of granting deference to the incumbent has the practical effect of making the officeholder almost unbeatable. Incumbency comes very close to ownership.
Campaigns consume at least a year, depending on the office. If an incumbent faces no challenge for his party’s nomination while the other side is locked in a long internal battle, the incumbent almost always emerges with a clear path to victory. The possibility that the Republican candidates will destroy each other over the next year is the one obvious factor that keeps Dodd in the race despite his low approval ratings.
Once a public office is considered a “safe seat” it’s probably time for a change and the rules should allow for it. Term limits enacted through law are one way to go, but another way to limit years in office would be for the parties themselves to enact rules that allow for no more than one free pass to re-nomination. This is of course unlikely since the role of the party is to win elections by putting forth the strongest candidate.
U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy served Massachusetts for 46 years. Can it be that there was no other candidate, from either party, who would have done as well, if not better, for at least half that time? Were his ideas always the best? Did he really represent the views of his constituents the entire time?
State Sen. George “Doc” Gunther was the longest serving member of the Connecticut Senate — serving into his 80s. I was once told that he was the kind of incumbent that could knock on every door in his district the day before the election, make an obscene gesture to whoever answered the door and still get re-elected by a landslide the next day.
That’s great for Gunther and the many public servants like him, but you have to question whether it is good for the state and the nation as a whole.
Keep in mind that elected public service is not supposed to be like every other job. You shouldn’t start young and retire old. You should start a bit later, after gaining some life experience that can be shared, and leave while you still have the energy to work at an uncommon pace.
I admit that certain benefits might be derived from the quirky nature of institutional memory, but on the other hand, good ideas and new leadership should not be forced to wait because of tradition.
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is vice president of public affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
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