The Mitchell City Council has rejected term limits for the Mayor and Council. The vote was unanimous following a lengthy and sometimes contentious discussion.
The proposed ordinance would have placed three, three-year term limits of service, but the current years of service wouldn’t count against the incumbent council members.
Councilor Mike Bathke, in his first term, pushed for a public vote to decide term limits instead of the council deciding. “There will be a public vote, because I am going to pass a petition,” said Bathke. “Because I am committed to it, I haven’t had anyone reach out to me and say, ‘don’t do it’. Everybody that I’ve talked to says it’s time.”
Councilor Jeff Smith disagreed and believes it’s up to the voters to choose the candidate of their choice without term limits.
It’s also been argued that incumbents have a decided advantage because of name recognition.