Editorial: Dublin should have been up front about term-limit ballot measure

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The Dublin City Council placed on Tuesday’s ballot a measure that includes good government reforms and a term-limit extension.

Too bad they couldn’t be forthcoming with voters about the term-limit component. Voters should reject Measure JJ. The council should try again in the next election — but be up front with the voters.

The measure’s provisions include prohibitions on councilmembers accepting gifts from city contractors or lobbyists, and on lobbyists sitting on city commissions. It would require the city to post on its website monthly financial reports and most city contracts before the council acts on them. All good stuff — although it’s not clear that a ballot measure was needed to implement them.

And then there’s the term-limit provision, described in the ballot wording as “impos(ing) a combined term limit of 12 years for the Mayor and/or City Councilmembers, while retaining existing term limits for the current Mayor and City Councilmembers.”

What it fails to make clear is that this would be an increase in how long someone could serve as the elected mayor or councilmember, from eight consecutive years to 12 consecutive years.

The idea is good. And the councilmembers deserve kudos for not applying the increase to themselves, unlike, say, the self-serving and deceptive move in 2022 by the Santa Clara Valley Water District board to convince voters to approve a similar measure.

Unfortunately, for all the government integrity intentions, the Dublin council, in drafting the measure, didn’t walk the talk by providing a transparent ballot measure.