CITY TERM LIMITS, WARDS NEED SERIOUS REVIEW

There are hints already of city elections in Cape Girardeau next April when three council positions will be determined. For the first time, two councilmen are barred from running again because of term limits imposed by the city charter. And the election of council members by wards also deserves some review.

Anyone interested in becoming a candidate for a four-year term on the city council must officially file between Oct. 26 and Nov. 23 for the election that will be held next April 4. To qualify, a candidate must be at least a two-year resident of the city and must obtain signatures of 50 registered voters on a nominating petition. Those petitions are available now at City Hall.

Dr. Melvin Kasten of Ward 4 and Melvin Gateley of Ward 5 cannot seek re-election because of term limits. Jay Purcell of Ward 3 can run again and has announced he will seek re-election.

City voters, by an almost 2-to-1 majority, amended the city charter in 1992, giving Cape Girardeau its current ward system. The ward system wasn't implemented until the 1994 city election. In 1996, voters approved another amendment in the city charter that imposed term limits. Council members are restricted to two consecutive terms.

First, the issue of term limits for council members.

This newspaper has consistently supported term limits for state and federal officeholders. Why? Many of the reasons are wrapped up in the same thinking that gave us the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constition limiting presidents to two terms. State and federal officeholders have political organizations that enable them to form huge power bases. They tend to be well-paid and have access to tax funding for big staffs ostensibly to deal with constituent needs but, in fact, mainly serve to ensure re-election. And state and federal officeholders tend not to be our neighbors whose character and political fortitude are well-known to us.

Candidates for local city and school boards, on the other hand, are required to pass muster on a very personal level. While it is true that most Cape Girardeau voters would have a tough time naming all the current city council and school board members, there is every expectation that a candidate's worst flaws would be known -- and brought to the public's attention -- by someone or some group.

And if current officeholders are any indication, there is more interest in consensus decision making and dealing with nitty-gritty budgets and policy rather than worrying about getting re-elected or establishing unassailable power.

In short, term limits on the local level have the potential to force capable and conscientious officeholders out of office at a time when seasoned and stable leadership is not just useful, but essential to choices that will have an impact for years to come.

The decision to impose term limits on city council members was made by the same voters who could have turned out any rascal should the occasion have arisen. But city voters chose mandatory turnover rather than making good decisions about candidates in future city elections.

Now the matter of the ward system.

The concept of wards includes the notion that geographic representation is important. But, without casting aspersions on any current council members, it can be said that the ward system has not produced a large number of well-qualified candidates seeking to represent the best interests of the city as a whole, much less the interests of any particular ward.

The city would be better served by at-large council elections that give seats to candidates endorsed by the most voters from across the city.

Both the ward system and term limits are subjects that need reconsideration. With a municipal election six months away, this may be the time to do it.