Those elected to Delta council should be restricted to serving a maximum of two terms, says candidate Sylvia Bishop.
Bishop is the latest to raise the issue of term limits, which was also discussed Tuesday night during a mayoral candidates debate at Genesis Theatre.
Part of Bishop's platform includes instituting term limits and a freeze on salaries, aimed at ensuring that politics isn't viewed as a career but as a way to serve the community.
"Running for office shouldn't be viewed as a career or a cushy job," she said. "Representing the people in an elected position is a public service, and setting a limit of two consecutive terms and freezing politician salaries would go a long way towards restoring faith in our public officials."
The current Delta council is made up of three firstterm councillors in Ian Paton, who got on after winning last year's by-election, and Anne Peterson and Heather King, who were first elected in 2008. King, who's now running for mayor, had previously served on the Delta school board for six years.
Lois Jackson has been mayor since 1999, but has served on council for almost four decades. Councillors Robert Campbell and Scott Hamilton have served four and three terms, respectively, while Bruce McDonald was first elected in 1987.
McDonald said he doesn't buy the idea of term limits, noting it was introduced in California with negative consequences, including the reservoir of talent being depleted.
"If a person doesn't to the job properly, they get replaced. If they do, they can hang around... Can you imagine what the impact of that would be in many, many professions? You would eliminate all of the cultural memory, background and all those sorts of things.
"It's an easy way for someone to get into the system because they say, 'I can't beat those guys.' If you're better, you can. If you don't do the job right, it's up to the electorate."
McDonald, who lost the mayor's race in 2005, but returned to council in 2008, quipped that it means he's only a one-term councillor.
The four mayoral candidates were asked Tuesday if they would be in favour of a limit of two consecutive terms in office.
Jackson said she wouldn't favour such a restriction, noting many quality people are serving in elected office for extended periods.
Krista Engelland, who spent 15 years on Delta council, indicated it's something she'd like to see as it would bring new people and ideas to office.
John Meech also indicated support for the idea, having previously indicated he'd hold himself to a twoterm limit compared to his opponents, whom he described as career politi-cians.
King said she may support a two-term limit if terms were extended from three to four years.
As far as extending the terms of municipal councils, last fall the Metro Vancouver board of directors, chaired by Jackson, voted in favour of a recommendation asking the provincial government to adopt four-year terms. They cited several reasons, including extended terms benefiting taxpayers by "providing more stability, saving significant tax dollars by having fewer elections and ensuring greater focus on sound planning."
Opponents have argued longer terms are a barrier to participation and may end up leading to more by-elections.
