Term Limits Take Out Most Experienced State Legislators, Say Barcia, Mayes
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Michigan State Senator James A. Barcia
Michigan State Rep. Jeff Mayes
Michigan's term limits program for state legislators will soon rob area voters of one of their most experienced representatives -- State Sen. James A. Barcia.
"His record is absolutely exemplary," says State Rep. Jeff Mayes. "I just take notes and try to keep up with him."
The pair dazzled a recent Bay Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon meeting with their knowledge of state issues and their involvement in initiatives for positive change.
Both speakers had questions about Michigan's term limits law for state legislators, bumping them out of office after three terms, two four year terms in case of senators.
"Term limits are a distraction from good public policy," Sen. Barcia told the chamber crowd. He noted that, having served 34 years in public positions, "after six years I didn't know much."
He commented that legislators "are just becoming effective when they have to move on."
Rep. Mayes opined that with new legislators, having just gone through what often is a contentious election campaign, are reluctant to trust members of the opposite party. "They have been told the other party is the enemy; they don't know how to navigate the waters and two years ago in Lansing it wasn't a pretty sight."
It takes time for legislators to learn that the way to accomplish things for the voters is in a bipartisan way, working together and developing trust, both Mayes and Barcia indicated.
Both Barcia and Mayes are term limited in 2010, so potential candidates are already lining up for next year's campaigns. So far no Republican challengers for the solid Democratic seats have surfaced, or even been discussed.
For a time this spring the buzz was that, since both Mayes and Barcia are term limited (can't run again) they might switch jobs. Mayes might run for the State Senate and Barcia might seek the open House seat that would be left by Mayes.
That rumor balloon was punctured when Bay City Mayor Charles Brunner (Top, Right) announced his candidacy for Mayes' seat the other day in The Bay City Times. Brunner, a Democrat, is a retired high school instructor who has long service on the Bay City Commission.
Mayor Brunner has had high visibility in recent months for several trips to Washington with other mayors of automotive cities and meeting with important figures in the national administration about the economy and has also helped jump-start alternative energy and other initiatives in the city.
County Commissioner Brian Elder, (Bottom, Right) an attorney in private practice in Auburn, reports he's considering a run for the Democratic nomination for state representative also. He commented in an e-mail to MyBayCity.Com: "I am taking a serious look at that race, and I am being encouraged to run by local officials, business leaders, labor leaders and church leaders. Right now I am focused on doing my job as a commissioner. I don't think anyone would suggest that the work of either the County or the City is done yet. People expect us to do the jobs we were elected to do right now."
Neither Brunner nor Elder could be considered inexperienced in local politics and no doubt both would have a higher level of knowledge of state government than candidates in many other communities.
Although Rep. Mayes, 39, has not announced he is a candidate for the Senate seat, most political observers consider he would be a strong candidate should he make that decision. Regarding Sen. Barcia's political future, things are less certain. Neither Barcia nor knowledgeable local political observers had an immediate answer to the question of whether he will retire after 2010 or could speculate what direction his career may take.
Here is a 56-year-old seasoned politic an who has given yeoman service to local citizens for more than 30 years, since his election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1977.
You may recall that 1977 was six presidents ago. Jimmy Carter was in office then, to be followed by Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and now Barack Obama.
Just being around in politics through those administrations would give an invaluable wealth of information and expertise in the course of doing your job.
But Michigan voters, jaded by the actions of some long term legislators who established what amounted to dynasties, in November 1992 approved -- by the sizable margin of 59-41 percent -- an amendment to the state constitution that limits the number of terms a person may serve in various public offices. These lifetime limits affect officeholders sworn into office on or after January 1, 1993.
Limited to two terms are governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and state senators (terms of office are four years).
Limited to three terms are state representatives (term of office is two years).
Terms served need not be consecutive, and if less than half a term is served in an office, it does not count toward the limitation.
Note that limits are not imposed on the number of offices in which a person may serve -- only on the number of terms s/he may serve in each.
In a survey after the 1992 general election in Michigan, respondents reasoned that term limits will bring new ideas and people to state government, cause politicians to do what is right rather than what is popular, control interest group influence, and keep politicians more in touch with the citizenry.
Some suggested term limits will undermine their ultimate right to keep or oust a public official, disrupt the electoral system, and cause their legislative district to lose the clout of longevity.
Supporters of term limits believe public office is too often treated as a career rather than a service. They contend that because the salaries and benefits are attractive, a permanent, professional class of politicians has evolved.
Term limit opponents argue that the complexity of legislation and public policy requires considerable experience and professionalism. They believe it naive to think that someone who has no government experience can be effective. They fear that with so many new people arriving in the state capital, special interests actually will gain influence; the repository of institutional memory and knowledge about policy and process will be lobbyists rather than officeholders.
Opponents believe that by artificially forcing certain incumbents off the ballot, term limits deprive voters of their inherent right to choose.
Champions of term limits feel that officeholder turnover will freshen politics, giving new people a chance to serve and new ideas a chance to take hold in policy. Too often, they say, incumbents routinely are reelected because they enjoy high name recognition and can raise campaign funds more easily than challengers, reducing serious competition.
To opponents of term limits, large turnover will bring wild swings in partisan and ideological control, undermine stability in public policy, lead to far more mistakes in writing law, reduce productivity, and reward passion over reason. Also, with fewer senior officeholders around to share their knowledge and experience, more power is vested in unelected and unaccountable staff members, lobbyists, government appointees and career employees.
Along the way of history Jim Barcia served 1983-93 in the state senate, was U.S. Representative in Congress 1993-2003 and, when bumped out in Republican-controlled redistricting, won back his old state senate seat where he has served since 2003.
A lifelong resident of Bay County, Michigan, Senator Jim Barcia was born in Bay City on February 25, 1952. He is a graduate of Bay City Central High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Saginaw Valley State University in 1974. Senator Barcia is married to Vicki Bartlett. He has two step-children and six grandchildren.
Barcia has a long and distinguished career in public service, beginning in college while serving as student body president at SVSU. Barcia was elected to three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives and five terms in the United States Congress. Senator Barcia is currently serving his fifth term in the Michigan State Senate.
Senator Barcia is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Recreation. He sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Human Services and Community Health subcommittees, and Minority Vice-Chair of the Higher Education and State Police and Military Affairs subcommittees.
Senator Barcia also serves as the Associate President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
Rep. Mayes graduated from T. L. Handy High School in 1990. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science in 1994 from the University of Michigan, where he was an Evans Scholar.
Rep. Mayes has been active for more than a decade in area politics and has managed several high profile local campaigns, including the election and re-election of former State Representative A. T. Frank of Saginaw. He also worked as a Legislative Assistant to Bay City State Representatives Howard Wetters (1995-1998) and Joseph Rivet (1999-2000).
From 2000 to 2004, he served as Supervisor of the Charter Township of Bangor, Bay County's largest township, and is the former president of the Bay County Township Officers Association.
He was elected to the 96th District House seat (southern Bay County) and was seated in 2005, being re-elected for two more two-year terms beginning in 2007 and 2009. ###
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victoria.orozco Says:
On July 19, 2012
at 07:35 PM
hi i would like to know before i donate to american homeless veterans if they are a legent.. i saw your name Jim Barcia on the literture..please respond...thank you very much for your time
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