Time to examine the merits of term limits?

Could term limits for local councillors may be a way to bring fresh thinking into local government?

This morning's DominionPost covers our research to identify New Zealand’s longest-serving local-body politicians.

New Zealand's longest-serving councillor is on track to notch up half a century in public office – provided voters give him the tick once again this year.

Grey District Council deputy mayor Doug Truman, 76, was first elected to a local authority in 1968, and plans to run for another three-year term in October's local body elections.

His 48 years in office to date make him by far the country's longest-serving councillor, according to information compiled by the Taxpayers' Union.

We are quite surprised by the variations in these figures.  For example, Doug Truman, who sits on the Grey District Council, has served as an elected official for 48 years whereas in the neighbouring Westland District Council, the longest serving Councillor has served for only 7 years.

Whilst we all recognise the need for organisations to have long-standing personnel with institutional knowledge, we think these figures suggest that it is timely to look at implementing term limits at local councils.
 
There are obviously huge advantages, in name recognition for example, in being an incumbent at local body elections. This means it can be hard for fresh blood to get on a council, even if they are better qualified than an incumbent. We think the Local Government Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga should consider whether term limits would improve local government decision making.

If you’ve been on a council for 6 terms – 18 years –  and you haven’t yet achieved what you set out to, it seems unlikely that you will do it by staying on Council for another 18 years.

While no one would criticise Mr Truman for his 48 years of service, we can't help but note that when he was first elected to a council in 1968, man hadn't yet landed on the moon.

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