Lawmakers vote against term limits

Tally split along party lines with Albany GOP for, Democrats against

Albany County lawmakers will not place term limits on themselves, the county executive or comptroller.

Legislators on Monday defeated an effort to limit their terms and the terms of the two countywide posts to 12 years in office.

Sponsored by Colonie Republican Todd Drake, Local Law T would have taken effect next year and limited the county’s 39 legislators, the executive and the comptroller to three four-year terms. But legislators voted down the measure 27-12.

“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,” Drake said previously. “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 have ensured turnover among lawmakers, injecting excitement and energy in government. He said it would have also given more people a chance to serve their communities. 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.

The vote was primarily split down party lines, with Republicans supporting the proposal and most Democrats voting against it.

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 a body that is the largest county legislature in the state.

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

Legislators have also proposed laws that would reduce their number in Albany County, but that too has been defeated with opponents arguing a reduction in the size of the legislature would cut local representation and limit the number of minorities serving in elected office. They also raised doubts about whether the measure would 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 matter on Election Day. Supporters hope an outside committee will limit political influence in a process that has twice led to lawsuits alleging legislature districts under represent the county’s minority residents.