The subject of term limits comes up every few years on the national stage. People get sick of seeing the same people in power and bring up the idea of limiting their time in office.
Now, the subject has come up here in Maine, as Rep. John Martin (D-Eagle Lake) is calling for the legislature to get rid of the current term limits.
Currently, members of the Maine House and Senate can serve up to four consecutive two-year terms before being forced to give up the office. However, some get around that rule by switching from the House to the Senate or vice versa.
Just look at Martin, who is currently in his 24th term in the legislature. He won a seat in the Maine House in 1964 and held it until 1994 when term limits were approved by the voters of Maine ”“ with Martin being the poster boy for the reason to have term limits.
Martin returned to Augusta six years later when he was elected to the Maine Senate in 2000 and served the allowable four terms until 2008. He would then return to the House and serve from 2008 to 2012 and, of course, now he is in the middle of his current term in the House.
I believe the voters were right back in 1993 when 68 percent of Mainers supported the new term limits ”“ and again in 2007 when they voted down a measure to loosen the term limits by 67 percent of the vote.
Mr. Martin has been dedicated to serving this state and should be applauded for that, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that term limits should be in place.
A government ”“ whether it’s at the local, state or national level ”“ should not be under the control of the same people for as long as those people feel like having the power.
I understand that the argument against this is that somebody could always run against Martin or any other longtime politician and beat them.
But we all know that our political system is not always fair. More often than not, a person that has powerful connections and the deepest pockets can stay in office as long as he or she wants.
Term limits assure that new voices are given the opportunity to be heard in Maine ”“ and that’s how it should be across the nation.
I’m not alone in this feeling. Back in 2013, a Gallup poll was released and showed that 75 percent of voters ”“ both Democrats and Republicans ”“ wanted to see term limits in Congress.
Unfortunately, unlike on a state level here in Maine, the American people will likely never get a chance to vote for nationwide term limits.
Hopefully our leaders in Augusta will respect the will of the people and keep term limits intact.
— Pat McDonald is the sports editor of the Journal Tribune. An avid follower of media and politics, he has worked in the newspaper industry for close to 15 years.
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