Don't dumb down the Legislature
It would be crazy to force out our most experienced legislators with term limits

By state Rep. Daylin Leach

Over the course of my four-plus years in the Pennsylvania Legislature, I have largely supported Gov. Ed Rendell's agenda. As I enter my third term, I find his environmental proposals visionary and his focus on transit courageous.

I also support some of the reform proposals he discussed at his March 26 press conference. I am grateful that he has embraced redistricting reform, and I appreciate his efforts on campaign finance. However, I find some of his proposals misguided and pernicious and for the sake of the institution I serve I feel compelled to speak out.

I have previously written about why shrinking the Legislature is a bad idea. It would concentrate power in fewer hands, dilute the power of the people, make campaigns more expensive and less competitive, and significantly worsen constituent service. An even more pernicious idea is term limits.

Term limits are anti-democratic. Our right to choose our representatives is the cornerstone of democracy. It would be an arrogant power grab for politicians in Harrisburg to tell you who you can and cannot elect to represent you. It's frankly none of our business whom you choose. Which member of your community you have confidence in is up to you, not us.

Term limits also would produce a less competent Legislature. If you were hiring a doctor, a lawyer or a CEO, would you seek out the least-experienced person? Of course not. That would be insane. So when we hire legislators why would we say "experienced and knowledgeable people need not apply"?

The Pennsylvania Legislature controls more than $30 billion per year. Legislators make life-and-death decisions on issues ranging from abortion to the death penalty to health care. The issues we wrestle with are extremely complicated. Having some legislators who specialize in subjects and deeply understand the issues because of their training and experience is immensely helpful.

My sense is that the call for term limits is born out of the anger some people feel over specific legislation. But that's a frivolous reason for purging all experience from Harrisburg. It's not popular to say it, but being a legislator is hard and demanding work. And while there is certainly a need for a constant supply of new blood, having people with personal experience and institutional memory is essential.

My colleague Bob Freeman, D-Northampton, for example, has been in the Legislature for nearly 25 years. His focus is land use and he is an expert in that field. The rest of us look to him for guidance on critical land-use issues, and the state will suffer when he leaves. His constituents have demonstrated no desire to replace him with someone who would have to start learning from scratch. Who does it benefit to force them to do that?

When asked at his press conference about the loss of such experience if term limits are adopted, the governor suggested that legislative staff could pick up the slack. But rather than providing reassurance, this answer illuminates the problem. Do you recall voting for any "staff"? Do you even know any staff members' names? Why would we want to turn over the details of your government to unelected, unknown, unaccountable political appointees?

The governor also said that "citizen" legislators would more likely pass legislation he favors. That is a quaint notion, but there is absolutely no empirical evidence that citizens who, for example, oppose gun control, would suddenly start electing legislators who favor it because of term limits. In fact, many of the newly elected legislators are the most adamant opponents of the Rendell agenda.

The example set by our nation's founders is instructive. Thomas Jefferson was in politics for almost 60 years. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, James Madison, etc. were all "career politicians" who spent decades learning and honing their craft. It would have been tragic to lose these giants of the Republic mid-career to a silly gimmick like term limits.

I have spoken to many legislators from states with term limits. They all say term limits have been a catastrophe. People in office for just a couple of years are in powerful positions of leadership and have no idea what they are doing.

Term limits are a forced dumbing-down of our government. Last year we had 25 percent turnover in the Legislature. If you want more, ask us to adopt redistricting and campaign-finance reform. But don't destroy the institution we rely on to govern us wisely, and don't take away the right of the people to decide who will represent them.