Councilor seeks ballot question on term limits

The Boston City Council is wrestling with the idea of term limits for future mayors and councilors, a debate that coincides with calls for checks on the power of city and state politicians after an FBI bribery investigation.

Councilor John Tobin is recommending that the council allow Boston voters to weigh in, with a nonbinding referendum next November asking whether they would support a three-term limit on the mayor and council members. Voters would also be asked whether council terms should be lengthened from two years to four, to match the mayor's.

Tobin's proposal, which was debated at a committee hearing yesterday, would apply only to future elected officials, not sitting politicians including Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has held office since 1993 and may decide to seek a fifth term in next year's municipal elections.

Similar proposals are swirling on Beacon Hill after the arrests of state Senator Dianne Wilkerson and Councilor Chuck Turner in the FBI investigation. Wilkerson and Turner have said they are innocent.

Tobin and other City Council members said Tobin introduced his plan months ago and denied that it is being aired now in response to the allegations of bribes. Nonetheless, Tobin said term limits would introduce fresh faces and encourage harder work at City Hall.

"If you have term limits, it gives elected officials an incentive to get the job done, because there's an end date," Tobin said. "Also, there's talented people who would like to run for office but won't give up a summer to run against an entrenched incumbent."

The issue could further increase voter interest in the 2009 election. The races will probably feature a contested mayor's race, a growing list of contenders for the council's four at-large seats, and - depending on the outcome of his federal bribery case - Turner's potential bid for reelection.

Councilors last grappled with term limits when Tobin introduced the idea in 2005, but they rejected the idea. The reaction among Tobin's colleagues this time was mixed. No councilors, other than Tobin, openly embraced term limits. But some said they were open to hearing from voters on the proposal next year.

Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty, who is weighing a run against Menino next year, said that while he opposes term limits, he would support them if voters express their support.

"This question belongs in the hands of the electorate," Flaherty said. "If it's their choice to have term limits I would abide by it."

Councilor Michael Ross, who is expected to succeed Council President Maureen Feeney, said he worried about the city's powerful institutions regularly tangling with a council made up of less experienced politicians.

"You lose any institutional knowledge, and in a city like Boston that could be dangerous," Ross said.

There was no mention at the hearing of Turner, who has been publicly defending himself since being arrested Nov. 21 in a federal investigation into political corruption. Yesterday, Turner released a 16-page family history as he sought to bolster his image in a series of public statements and political rallies.

Feeney said she was undecided on Tobin's proposal.

"On the one hand, I believe that the people's right to vote is sacred, and I am skeptical of any legislation which places limits on the candidates they can choose - new or incumbent," she said in a statement. "On the other hand, while experience counts, new ideas and fresh perspectives are always important to make government work more effectively."

John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com.