Term limits signed into law
Most county officeholders won’t be able to serve more than 12 years
Beginning with the upcoming election in November, most Ulster County officeholders will be limited in the length of time they can serve in office.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan on Tuesday signed a bill limiting most of the county’s elected leaders to 12 years in office.
“In passing and signing this law we are recognizing that we have to constantly reinvigorate our democracy,” Ryan said in a press release. “No elected office should ever belong to an individual, it must always remain in the hands of the people.”
In July, the Ulster County Legislature voted 16-5 to approve a local law setting 12-year term limits for the county executive, comptroller and all 23 members of the Legislature.
The county executive and comptroller serve four-year terms, so they would be limited to three terms each. Legislators serve two years at a time, so they would be limited to six terms.
Under state law, the Legislature cannot impose term limits on the county clerk, sheriff, district attorney or judges.
The law will take effect in 2020,
meaning the affected office-holders elected in November 2019 would be subject to term limits. The law would not apply to incumbent office holders retroactively, meaning that any time already served by elected officials would not be counted toward the 12year term limit.
For more than a year, county lawmakers grappled with the question of whether to limit terms of office. Following months of debate, the Legislature in September 2018 voted to put the question of term limits before voters as a referendum on the ballot. But then-County Executive Michael Hein vetoed the legislation, saying a voter referendum would violate the state law.
Lawmakers voted to override the veto, but after the Dutchess County Legislature passed its own local law establishing 12-year term limits, Ulster legislators became more willing to accept Hein’s claim and decided to vote on the measure themselves.
Minority Leader Ken Ronk, R-Wallkill, an earlier supporter of term limits, said the law will encourage turnover in county government and “ensure new and innovative ideas are brought to Ulster County government.”
Freshman Legislator Joseph Maloney, D-Saugerties, the main sponsor of the bill, said in the press release that term limits “protect people from career politicians who concern themselves only with their next election.
“It also limits the influence of party establishments, political organizations and large donors,” he said. “Ulster County and its residents wanted and needed term limits and I’m proud to be part of delivering them.”
Opinion on term limits had been split among lawmakers and the public. A public hearing on the bill in June drew opposition to the measure from the League of Women Voters of the Hudson Valley and others who argued that term limits deprive the public of the right to choose their elected officials and pointed out the connection between the push for term limits and Reclaim New York, a lobbying group connected with the wealthy, conservative Mercer family.
Supporters of the measure say term limits would prevent incumbents from amassing power and gaining a “built-in advantage” when running for office, clearing the way for new people and new ideas.