Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Term Limits: Corruption Prevention

With two State Senators under indictment and a third a target of the US Attorney's office, corruption is front in center in the media. The Asbury Park Press's 15 part series on the history of Operation Bid Rig is sure to keep corruption as the issue on the forefront of Monmouth County voters' minds going into the campaign season.

More than likely the Bid Rig series is a prelude to an all out assault on the Monmouth GOP and the "good old boys club." The Press will argue that culture of corrpuption and cronyism still exists and that it is time to clean house. They will point to the Barham/Harvey relationship and the Hall of Records. The Tobia appointment, Malcolm Carton, pay to play will be used to bolster the assault. Freeholder Anna Little's unceremonious dumping from the ticket and the candidate selection process will be used to argue for the defeat of Rob Clifton and Jeff Cantor. The Democrats will not have to make these arguments. The Press will do it for them.

Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lord Acton's words are still true, almost two hundred years after he wrote them.

The genius of our forefathers was in their understanding of human nature. The system of checks and balances that our various governments, federal and state, are founded on have prevented tyranny and "absolute power" throughout our nation's history. In New Jersey, it is apparent that we need more checks and balances.

Term limits for our office holders, all of them on every level, will prevent the accumulation of absolute power.

Freeholder Anna Little has been talking about term limits and a rotational directorship since she took office. In May of this year, she proposed a resolution that would have implemented term limits and a rotational directorship on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders. None of the other Freeholders would second her motion, though candidate Jeff Cantor was quoted as favoring term limits.

Little should propose her resolution again and Rob Clifton should second it. Clifton and Cantor should run on the issue. It's good policy, and this year in particular it will be good politics.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good luck getting Puharic's permission for Clifton and Cantor to support anything that Anna Little proposes. A good idea, but not very realistic.

Anonymous said...

Is it term limits for just Monmouth or is she calling for state-wide?

Anonymous said...

Very simply:term limits are when ya get voted out, and that's rare, so it's usually "earned"!.. yet another bad Rep. year, just what we need is more unenforcible ways to bring out the already negatory sentiment: it would spell an even worse defeat on the county level this year..as for the rotating directorship, sounds nice, but no teeth: every year's Board,by law, decides who their Dir. is, plain and simple.. we've already tried "non-bindings":they hurt Rep's, period!