I thought I would take my stab at Brent Ackerson's proposal for tightening the mayoral term limits. I also thought I would give my thoughts about what it could mean for Bon Air and Highgate Springs?
---Disclaimer----
I will clarify and emphasize up front that I am in no way an insider. I am essentially spitting out theory.
If I was an insider in Louisville Government, I would not be living in Bon Air and I surely would not be doing what I am doing for a living, and I would probably be blogging some technical or specialty blog if I even would have time to write a blog.
Furthermore, this may be the most boring blog entry I have written.
----Brent's legislative record of sponsorship----
Moving on, from what I can tell from brief research this resolution is the second one that Brent has sponsored. Brent's first major resolution was the anti-litter proposal that appeared to address all those nuisance green bags that the CJ was dropping in those driveways of households not subscribing to the daily newspaper.
At face value, the proposed term limit ordinance is a good resolution for Brent to sponsor. It has bi-partisan support that serves different agendas. The Republicans like it for one reason and the Democrats such as Tina Ward-Pugh like it for another (that is how bipartisanship takes place).
My gut tells me that it has been nicely negotiated in backrooms and at restaurant tables, and it will pass the council. Then city fathers will go to hearings in Frankfort to browbeat legislators to get it through committee and get it passed. I think that it is a done deal.
But will it really be good for Louisville and mean something?
----A very brief discussion on the theory of term limits.----
You would like to think that term limits are a good idea to keep the world from having more Chicagos and Richard Daleys running corrupt and oppressive political machines. While I did not find anyone using the c-word, there was significant insinuation regarding the mayor and the Cordish Company by Republican and Democratic Metro Council members.
Another theory behind term limits is that it allows for fresh ideas and roots out the career politicians. Term limits hopefully mean more opportunity for true democracy.
The theoretical downside of term limits is that experienced politicians actually become skilled at making things work and develop specialized expertise in their situations. I believe that Tina Ward-Pugh, Tom Owen, and Kelly Downard especially know how to work things to get ordinances passed. When you have term limits you lose that expertise. (But the term limits are mayoral and not Metro Council term limits.)
----The (maybe)darker side of term limits.----
There is formal government structure, and then there is political power. Power is essentially the ability to get things done and get agendas accomplished.
For you who think that this tightening of term limits will really increase democracy in Louisville, consider this. It probably won't.
Savitch and Kantor in their book "Cities in the International Marketplace: The Political Economy of Urban Development in North America and Western Europe" discuss the effect of term limits in Houston, Texas. They note that Houston business (especially the Chamber of Commerce) and local Houston government are tight. Mayoral term limits in Houston in their observation merely maintain business control of government.
Houston and Louisville tend to be similar in business control of government. Greater Louisville Inc. already is a significant driver of policy and there are already term limits in place. So, part of me yawns when I think about the true impact of tightening term-limits. Tightening the existing term limits may only make Greater Louisville Inc. and its successor organizations politically stronger in bargaining position with Metro Government. (Whether that is good or bad is up to you).
----------Back to Brent . . .-------
Assuming that this resolution will be successful, and the good-ole boys continue to hand Brent this political fruit, and depending on Brent's future aspirations, I suggest that we in the Bon Air and Highgate create a few wish-lists of other things that we want.
These wish lists could be derived from a Strategic or SWOT planning, or these wish lists could just be from our wild imaginations for from our vision for the area. Or we could call the Center for Neighborhoods again.
The Highlands just did not get to be the upscale and kitschy place it is just because a few people thought it would be good. The Highlands has become what it is thanks to political action.
If Brent is going for a political ride and is increasing in political power and stature, we need to take advantage of it.
It is a running commentary on the news and occurances and in the Bon Air and Highgate Springs Neighborhood. It also contains philosophical discourse on what the neighborhood needs for it to be vibrant and robust.
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