U.S. Rep. Earl
Blumenauer and four former colleagues in the Oregon
Legislature said Wednesday what incumbents may find
difficult to do: speak out against Oregon's term limits
law. "It has turned
our Legislature into a big bus station," said the Portland
Democrat, himself a state representative from 1973 to 1979.
"Most people are on their way someplace else, but few want
to stay to make a difference. "It does not
shortchange just the individual legislators, making it hard
for them to get the experience they need to serve. It
shortchanges the public, denying them the opportunity to
keep men and women they like in office." Blumenauer and
the others released a letter at a Capitol news conference
signed by 105 former legislators who support changing or
doing away with the limits voters approved in
1992. The House
voted earlier this week to send voters a measure that
retains the 12-year lifetime limit, but drops internal
limits of six years in the House and eight in the Senate.
Last week it passed another bill to speed up a challenge to
the law in state courts. The Senate
will vote soon on two proposals, one similar to the House"s
change and the other asking voters to repeal the
law. A supporter of
the limits, Ted Piccolo of Portland, said legislators should
have formed their own citizen committee to qualify a measure
for the ballot. "They just
want to use their vaunted positions to keep their hold on
power," Piccolo said. But former
Rep. Tony Van Vliet, a Republican from Corvallis, said only
12 senators and 17 representatives remained by 1981, just
six years after he entered the House. "This natural
attrition has been common in Oregon," said Van Vliet, who
left the House in 1995. "We believe in a citizen Legislature
that looks at service as a public responsibility, rather
than a professional career." Other
supporters were former Speaker Phil Lang, a Portland
Democrat who served 18 years until 1979; former House
Minority Leader Roger Martin, a Lake Oswego Republican who
served 12 years until 1979, and former Rep. Doug Heider, a
Republican who represented Marion County from 1959 to
1963. Martin is a
lobbyist and Heider, now retired, was a lobbyist for 30
years. "Do you want
lobbyists educating legislators?" Martin said. "That"s what
we have today."
Former representatives say the rule hurts the
public.
Statesman Journal
April 19, 2001