Changing Election Rules by Democratic Process
Voters Will Decide Whether to Limit Terms of Elected Officials, and More

“[The current system] gives the voters real power, gives the voters a real say.”

By Evan Berkowitz

At its Jan. 16 meeting the Surfside Town Commission passed an ordinance that created a ballot question for the municipality’s voters: How long a term and how many consecutive terms should Surfside elected officials serve? The Nov. 6 ballot will also address the issue of staggering terms or having different election dates for different commissioners. Both changes require amendments to the Town Charter.

Commissioner Mark Blumstein said extending the length of terms from two to four years would make Surfside more consistent with neighboring communities like Miami Beach, Bal Harbour and Bay Harbor Islands. He said longer terms would allow policy decisions to get implemented more efficiently. “A lot of times you’ll find that Surfside has lagged behind other communities in terms of progress, essentially because every two years you’re having an election that could determine new policies and new directions,” he said. Blumstein said it was difficult for the town manager and his staff to contend with policy changes so often.

He is also in favor of staggered terms, which he said allows for more continuity and a better transition for incoming commissions because more experienced members are guaranteed to stay in office longer.

Complementing the first ordinance, which addressed the previous two points, Blumstein endorsed another charter amendment that limits consecutive terms in office to eight years. He said he thought it best to have some limitations on length of service to allow for “fresh blood” and “fresh ideas.” The new rules allow an individual to return to elected office after sitting out one election cycle.

Commissioner Steven Levine, the only current elected official who served on the previous commission, agreed with Blumstein about the advantages of leadership continuity. He said the town’s old Community Center — the subject of many debates on whether to refurbish or rebuild — could have been ready much sooner if there had been more agreement on what should be done. “Every two years it seems like you’d be back to ground zero,” he quipped.

“This discussion presupposes that we know better than the voters,” said Mayor Charles Burkett, who said while he thought his fellow commissioners had good intentions, he was uncomfortable with the current undertaking. He said, “Us sitting up here and saying, ‘You know what? We think it’s good for the townspeople and the voters that we stay here for four years instead of two’ was completely inappropriate.”

Burkett said if the voters of Surfside want to retain their elected officials for four or six years, then using the current system, they can simply re-elect them every two years. “This gives the voters real power, gives the voters a real say,” he said. He described the continuity argument as a “red herring,” noting that the current commission is made up of mostly new members who are making very broad changes in the town government.

Burkett would have preferred to see a “grass roots”-type effort, with a petition and a sizable portion of the electorate voicing support for these sweeping changes in how their commission is run. He was in favor of the term limits ballot, but said he would like to see a public workshop on that debatable subject. 

Vice Mayor Howard S. Weinberg responded to Burkett’s points, noting that under the new proposed system there would still be elections every two years, only not for the entire commission. He also said since this was going to a ballot, the voters would ultimately decide the matter.

The ordinance creating a ballot question to limit length of service to eight consecutive years passed unanimously. The ordinance creating a ballot question to extend terms and create staggering passed 4-1, with only the mayor dissenting.

Town Attorney Lynn M. Dannheisser had the four commissioners draw straws to determine which seats will begin a four-year term vs. a two-year term in the next election cycle. The mayor will get a four-year term automatically. Blumstein and Levine drew the short straws, and the persons elected to their respective seats, 3 and 4, will begin two-year terms in 2008. The remaining commissioners and the mayor will have four-year terms upon election starting in 2008. The short-straw, two-year-term commissioners will face re-election in 2010, “but that re-election shall then be for a four-year term; thereafter all seats shall be for a four-year term,” explained Dannheisser. All this, of course, is pending the ballot passing.

If term limits of eight consecutive years are approved by the electorate, they will only apply to those who begin a four-year term in 2008; those who drew a short straw may have two four-year terms beginning in 2010. The resolution officially documenting the drawing of straws passed 4-1 with the mayor dissenting.

By a vote of 4-1, with Burkett again dissenting, the commission chose Nov. 6, 2007 for the ballot election, which they said will allow enough time to implement the new rules before the scheduled Surfside Commission elections in March.

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