Voters can end terms of elected officials

In the United States, nearly all public officials are subject to term limits. These limits are called elections.

When elected officials lose favor with their constituents, voters are free to throw the bums out.

Term limits – the kind that would set a maximum number of terms a member of Congress could serve – have suddenly become an issue in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, who resigned his seat as congressman from South Carolina’s 5th District to take the job of President Donald Trump’s budget director. The 5th District includes all of York, Chester and Lancaster counties.

So far, six candidates, all Republicans, have declared their intention to run for the seat. And three of them have stated that, if elected, they will term limit themselves.

Candidate Chad Connelly, the former chairman of the S.C. GOP, is pledging to serve no more than six terms, or 12 years in the House. He said he also would sponsor a bill to limit all House members to six terms and senators to two terms, also 12 years.

Tommy Pope of York, speaker pro tempore of the S.C. House, pledged that he would would support amending the Constitution to limit legislators to no more than three terms in the House and two in the Senate.

“Term limits are a long overdue step towards reviving the uniquely American tradition of a citizen legislature,” Pope said. “Members of Congress should be focused on serving the people, not their own political careers.”

Another candidate, Tom Mullikin, a Camden attorney and commander of the S.C. State Guard, also has pledged to introduce term-limits legislation but hasn’t specified the number of terms.

The other three candidates, Sheri Few, Ralph Norman and Kris Wampler, have not weighed in yet on this issue.

We have heard the argument that incumbents become entrenched in office and unresponsive to the needs of constituents. Longtime office-holders often have the backing of powerful and wealthy supporters, which can represent a significant advantage over challengers. And with the power that comes with seniority, veteran incumbents are even more difficult to unseat.

At the same time, however, we think proponents of term limits undervalue the advantage of experience. Those newly elected to Congress barely have time to learn the ropes before it is time to run again.

Many of the most effective elected officials have been those who stay in office long enough to forge alliances with colleagues and perfect the art of governing. If legislators aren’t doing the job, lose touch with their districts, break campaign pledges or otherwise displease their constituents, voters can replace them.

And, of course, candidates can always voluntarily step down, term-limiting themselves, as Connelly has promised to do.

If the candidates for the 5th District want to make the issue of term limits central to this election, that is their privilege. We think, however, there are a host of other issues that should take precedence in the campaign and which are of more concern to voters.

As far as we’re concerned, if legislators are effectively representing the best interests of the people they serve, they should remain in office until they step down or are forced out of office.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Voters can end terms of elected officials."