A contested decision by Montgomery County’s Board of Elections has thrust local politicians into the somewhat awkward position of defending term limits — or at least the right to put them on the ballot.
Election officials squashed a measure that would have allowed Montgomery voters in November to control how long the county executive and council members could stay in office.
Citing new standards for validating signatures on petitions, though, the board verified just 2,478 of the roughly 16,000 names submitted by Robin Ficker — an activist and County Council candidate with a long history of successful voter referendums. The measure needed 10,000 signatures to make the ballot.
The ruling was made just days after a similar dismissal of a ballot initiative to overturn the county’s new ambulance fee. And it ushered in a wave of criticism from council members, who admittedly, stood to benefit from the ruling.
“I don’t believe it is necessary or good public policy,” said Councilman Roger Berliner, D-Bethesda, of term limits. “It does seem to be a solution in search of a problem. Setting that aside, I do believe in the right of the people to express their views. And it seems like that was denied here.”
Under a recent Maryland Court of Appeals ruling, the names inked on petitions must exactly match those in the voter registration database. Or residents must print and sign their first name, last name and all middle initials.
The dispute has snowballed into a major issue at both the local and state level during an election season dominated by talks of budget cuts and fiscal austerity.
If elected, a block of local Republican candidates for the General Assembly vowed to introduce legislation to ease the rules for voter referendums. And Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville, promised to introduce a bill to repeal the ambulance fee later this year.
Still, the politicians aren’t exactly devastated by the decision.
“Personally, I’m happy to see the term-limit issue went down in defeat,” said Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, D-Silver Spring, before adding she had reservations about the standard assigned to signatures.
Ficker pledged to challenge the decision, saying he will be “in court on this no later than Tuesday.” Volunteer firefighters are also expected to follow suit.
The term limits would have gone into effect after three consecutive terms beginning in 2014.
