Consider constitutional amendment carefully

Let your JP know your thoughts

It would be fantastic in this age of the internet, social media and other current communication means if we really knew what was going on behind the obvious. Apparently we have access, via one means or another, to almost everything, good, bad, current or historical through one avenue or another. What we chose to prioritize in our lives seems to be the only limitation. Several weeks ago in this column, I discussed the issue of the question of choices that current parents must make for their children. The response from my youngest son, father of four ranging in age from 21 down to 10, indicates I was not far off in my concern.

As adults today, we face a similar situation in our own lives. Trying to balance decisions about how much time to devote to our spouse, recreation, church or politics is a never ending choice. Choosing to manage a youth athletic program or know the candidates for the local School Board are important options among the many choices.

What I find myself facing is how much time do I devote to "trying" to stay abreast of what is happening in the world of politics. That world goes beyond the hark and cry of Trump vs. Hillary or vice versa. It also includes who is on the School Board, who is running for Congress and who in Little Rock is trying to pass legislation that can easily be characterized as based on self-interest such as the last term-limits change attached to a measure that you and I were asked to approve because it sounded good on the Bill's title. The "approve term limits" portion was designed, in my opinion, to disguise the opportunity for members of the State House of Representatives to extend their personal length of service in the legislature. There were numerous warnings about the potential for this Bill to "un-do" what had previously been done in setting maximum service limits.

Northwest Arkansas is probably more aware of legislative activities than some areas of the state and I do not know how Benton County voted on the issue. But my faith in our state legislators fell to rock bottom after that change was hidden in other desirable legislation. The legislators initiated this change for their personal benefit, not to satisfy a need of the voters.

For our term limits question this election cycle, the Legislature is offering us proposed Constitutional Amendment "Issue 1." This is also a question that all voters should review in depth before they go to the polls, because it affects county offices, not state offices. It would change the term of office for every position of county constitutional offices -- those established in the State Constitution that are county-wide, from two years to four years. In Benton County that would be the sheriff, county judge, collector, assessor, treasurer, circuit clerk and county clerk, coroner and surveyor.

Whether you agree with four (4) year terms, rather than the current two (2) years is strictly choice. There are reasons to support either stance on this issue and my future years are not likely to be affected no matter what the outcome that the voting produces. What I do question is who or what group initiated this proposed amendment. There are numerous organizations which are made up of elected county officials -- probably one for each position. It is probably a good guess that this was initiated by elected county officials and not a ground swell or grass roots effort on the part of the voters.

Good officials deserve four years terms without having to run every two years. How does one know who will be good until they have served at least one term and if they don't fulfill their responsibilities to the citizens of their county, two years is too long.

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Editor's note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. A native of Benton County, he is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Editorial on 09/14/2016