Under consideration

12-year maximum sought to boost choice, accountability

Albany County legislators set to vote on term limit proposal.

Albany County legislators are considering putting a term limit on their posts — as well as those of the county executive and comptroller.

The proposed legislation, which is scheduled to be voted on Monday, would limit officials to 12 years in office.

If passed, Local Law T would take effect at the beginning of next year and would limit Albany County’s 39 legislators, the county executive and the comptroller to three four-year terms. It would not include people who are serving partial terms.

“What we’re looking to accomplish here is eliminating that status quo government that has been going on for

decades. It’s not just here, it’s everywhere,” said Latham Republican Todd Drake, who is sponsoring the legislation. “What motivated me to get involved in government was standing by and watching that ‘same old-same old’ go by every day.”

Drake said term limits would ensure continued excitement and energy in government and give other people in Albany County the opportunity to serve their community. When an elected official has been in office for a long time, people don’t have the money or the connections to take them on, he said.

“I think when we don’t provide (the public) with other choices, the political machine wins,” Drake said.

Initially, the legislation was expected to go to the public for a referendum, but Drake said an examination of similar proposals in other communities indicated the change wouldn’t have to go to a public vote.

“Term limits really give us an opportunity to offer choice and accountability to the elected officials,” he said. “I think with a 12-year term, it really does offer someone a term to become accustomed, a term to be in full swing, and a term to be shepherding other folks or teaching them their knowledge.”

Lawmakers have attempted to pursue several measures that reshape how the County Legislature operates but not all of them have been met with support from the 39-member body.

Drake has also proposed an anti-nepotism policy that would prohibit the hiring or appointment of relatives of elected county officials to any paid positions that qualifies as a policymaking official or high-ranking county position. The legislation hasn’t any gained traction, but it’s set for another public hearing Sept. 24.

“I think it’s important that the public understand who is being hired for these roles, that they’re qualified and that they’re the best choice regardless of familial or other connections,” Drake said.

Legislators also have proposed laws that would reduce the number of legislators in Albany County, but they have been defeated under the arguments that it reduces representation for constituents, possibly limits representation for people of color and doesn’t save money.

An effort to establish an independent redistricting committee to draw the voting district lines once the 2020 U.S. Census is released did pass the legislature earlier this year, and county voters will get to weigh in on the November ballot. The new process aims to limit political influence.