June 9, 2009

THREE ERIE COUNTY LEGISLATORS SEEK TO DOWNSIZE LEGISLATURE AND CREATE TERM LIMITS

(Buffalo, NY) - The Erie County Legislator Minority Caucus today submitted two proposed local laws which would reduce the size of the Erie County Legislature from fifteen members to nine and would impose term limits on all of Erie County's elected officials. The move follows closely on the heels of proposed local laws submitted on Friday to reduce the size of the legislature to thirteen or eleven members, with both proposals doubling the length of the term of office of an Erie County Legislator from two years to four years. By submitting the proposed local law, the Minority Caucus seeks to give voters an opportunity to choose to decrease the size of the legislature without extending the term of office for legislators.

"Our proposal gives voters the opportunity to implement real and significant change on how they are governed. It takes into account the declining population of Erie County and the number of legislators needed to carry out Charter mandated duties. Furthermore, it also ensures the proper representation of the diverse voices of Erie County's citizens, all at a significant cost savings to Erie County taxpayers," commented Legislator Edward A. Rath III (15th District). Rath stated that the Minority Caucus local law proposes significant and meaningful reform without trying to force longer term of office on the voters of Erie County. "It is important to note that our law does not double the length of the term of office for Erie County legislators. Our caucus has not heard from voters in our districts demanding that legislators double the length of their terms. As such, we will not impose that on the voters of Erie County," added Legislator Rath.

The other law proposed by the Minority Caucus today will limit the terms of office of Erie County elected officials. "Erie County elected officials must be held accountable to the voters. One way to achieve this is to impose term limits on elected officials," stated Legislator Raymond W. Walter (4th District), adding "By stating that an elected official will only hold the office for a maximum of eight consecutive years, a sense of urgency to implement meaningful reform will be created." Walter noted that an elected official subject to term limits will be more likely to implement reforms that are responsive to the taxpayers of Erie County, because he or she will not be consumed by finding ways to make politics a career. "A government governs best when it is truly representative of the people it governs. By creating term limits, our elected officials will more likely be individuals with real working world experience, who know the meaning of a dollar, rather than career politicians who only know how to spend taxpayer dollars," added Legislator Walter.

Minority Leader John J. Mills (13th District) commented, "Some have tried to portray the Majority downsizing proposal as a compromise. A compromise would presume that the Majority did not want to reduce the size of the legislature at all. I hope that is not the case. Further, I can't understand why elected officials feel that they have the stature to compromise with a bi-partisan commission of community members regarding this issue. Rather than compromise, we should be looking at the size of legislature that is wanted by the people that it represents and the size that is needed to carry out charter mandated duties." Mills added that voters should be allowed to vote separately as to what size of a legislature they want to be governed by and how long the terms of office should be. "By separating the issues, we will empower voter to decide how they will be governed. On issues as important as these, the power should be left in the hands of the voters, not politicians who might be motivated by self-preservation."

The Minority Caucus members anticipate that the laws will be referred to the Government Affairs Committee according the rule of the legislature. "I look forward to a discussion of our proposals and hope that the public will have an opportunity to comment on them, leading to the ultimate approval of these proposed laws," stated Legislator Mills.

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