Letter to the Editor Saddleback Valley News Friday, April 14, 2000
by Milt Jacobson

In the spring copy of the Outlook, City Hall's official newsletter to residents, there was an article stating former councilmember Tom Potocki "took pride in having helped draft a term-limit ordinance that was subsequently approved by 83 percent of the Mission Viejo voters."

Of course, as the city frequently does, the article failed to reveal some background facts. As with the fiasco election on the City Hall building, voters favoring term limits were forced by the council majority to approve a measure designed to prevent voters from having a true choice. Voters were forced to vote for allowing three consecutive terms or no terms, even if they preferred a two-term limit. Furthermore, the measure slyly permitted incumbents to resume office with no lifetime limit, if they simply sat out for a year or two after each 12-year stint.

Even the president of the United States is limited to two terms lifetime, but evidently, our local politicians consider themselves much more important and indispensable.

The city's article also failed to mention the term-limit ordinance protects the current council members so that conceivably Bill Craycraft could serve 24 consecutive years, Susan Withrow for 20 years and Sherri Butterfield for 16 years. It seems we have a royal family of politicians in Mission Viejo with voters under their dictatorial thumbs.