Just now, limits on term-limit talk
Just because you're paranoid, goes the old line, doesn't mean they're not out to get you. And just because a proposal is floated as a bald political ploy in an election season doesn't necessarily mean it is without merit.
But it may mean that it's doomed.
That appears to be the case with City Councilor Maura Hennigan's idea of putting a question on the November ballot asking Boston voters whether they want to institute term limits on the office of mayor.
Hennigan, who just happens to be running for mayor against an incumbent who is seeking his fourth term, first filed the proposal in March. Several US cities have adopted mayoral term limits in recent years, including New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Debate over the pros and cons of limits on mayoral reigns could be a particularly healthy discussion for Boston, whose city charter grants the mayor among the most sweeping powers of any US city.
But Hennigan's colleagues have been loath to even schedule a hearing on the bill. Councilor Maureen Feeney, who chairs the Government Operations Committee where the proposal has stalled, says she doesn't want the council to be used as a staging ground for a Hennigan campaign stunt.
Hennigan says councilors are instead serving as puppets for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who obviously isn't eager to see a big debate on whether lengthy mayoral tenures make for good government.
''The City Council should not be in the business of doing the bidding of Mayor Menino," Hennigan says of the kibosh her colleagues have put on the proposal. ''They should be in the business of allowing the public to weigh in on an issue that has an extreme effect on how this city is governed."
The council is famous for being weak-kneed in the face of mayoral muscling, and a wish to stay in Menino's good graces is no doubt playing a part in their posture on the issue. ''It's a symptom of the problem," Hennigan says of the effect of unchecked mayoral power.
But it's equally true that her term-limits proposal was never going anywhere from the start.
To appear on the November ballot, the proposed charter change would not only have to be first approved by the City Council, but also by the Legislature and governor. It is nearly unthinkable to imagine legislative leaders, particularly Senate President Robert Travaglini, a close Menino political ally and friend, rushing such a measure through so it could appear on the November ballot.
Perhaps there should be a debate on mayoral term limits, but it will probably have to happen outside the glare of a campaign.
Opponents of term limits maintain that elections provide a regular opportunity for voters to weigh in on whether officeholders have overstayed their welcome. It's a flip retort that ignores all the ways that those in power are able to use it to maintain their hold. What's more, Menino seems determined to provide as little opportunity as possible for a robust give-and-take on his record, agreeing to two debates -- one on public television and one radio -- that seem destined to draw low audiences.
Still, there are plenty of big issues on which the mayor's record is mixed: from the state of the schools to the safety of the streets. Hennigan would do well to turn her focus away from the idea that Menino has simply been there too long and sharpen her critique of what he's done -- or not done -- and lay out what she would do differently.
Michael Jonas can be reached at jonas@globe.com.
