Details: Category: RLC FL News; Published on 02 July 2011; Written by Philip Blumel; Hits: 59813

alt [UPDATE 8/10/11 -- Florida's 4th District Court of Appeals rule today IN FAVOR of county term limits. Thanks to the Broward County attorney's office and all the RLCers and others who rallied behind their voter-approved term limits laws!]

In Palm Beach County, two county commissioners – Burt Aaronson and Karen Marcus, a Democrat and a Republican -- have announced they intend to defy 70% of the voters by running again in 2012 in spite of a voter-approved and initiated term limits law. RLCers and others are not taking this news sitting down.

Citizens – including RLCers Rick Shepherd, Bill Skinner and George and Philip Blumel – met on Monday to plan a response. The meeting, called just two days before, drew over 20 activists, most veterans of the successful campaign to impose term limits in 2002.

Earlier this year a new local website was launched to track this issue, www.pbctermlimits.com. At Monday’s meeting, activists raised some Monday and decided to buy ads in local media and start a 93,000 home robocall informing voters of the commissioners’ intentions and directing them to the website.

A poll has been created on the site, allowing readers to weigh in on the controversy.

Palm flyers were created for distribution at public places and citizens are encourage to participate in the current charter review process, calling for retention and defense of the people’s term limits law.

On Thursday, Philip Blumel spoke to the Palm Beach County Young Republicans and distributed the flyers.

The goal of the so-far unnamed group is to educate voters about the law and discourage Marcus and Aaronson from running against the clearly expressed will of the people. Both commissioners are pinning their hopes on a legal challenge to the Broward County term limits law, but the citizens committee is echoing the Palm Beach Post’s call for commissioners to stand down in accord with the clearly expressed will of the people.

The term limits law is typical of those in home rule charter counties throughout the state. It imposes an 8-year consecutive term limit and passed with 70% of the voter. Activists collected over 60,000 petition signatures to put the idea on the ballot for a vote.

The term limits went into affect in 2010. In the eight-year period before the limits went into effect, four members of the commission have been indicted and three have gone to prison for corruption.