Who's ready for generational term limits? That's what may be coming to an Oklahoma county near you if yet another time-wasting, real issue-dodging Oklahoma lawmaker gets his way.
I was surfing the Oklahoma Reddit page last night (because I'm a winner) and ran across a link for HB 2215. Introduced by State Rep. Sean Roberts – the guy who looks like he sings at your grandma's church – it would extend the terms of most country elected officials from four to 24 years.
Yeah, that's right. 24 years. Not hours like the TV show.
Here's a list of the elected officials that would see their terms sextupled:
• County Sheriffs
• County Court Clerks
• County Clerks
• County Treasurers
• County Assessors
• County Commissioners, and
• District Attorneys
That's great. 24 year terms? Sure. Why not. As we all know, county officials are some of the most reputable, honest and ethical elected officials out there. Especially the sheriffs. They're always in the news for their good deeds and totally deserve 24-year terms. Hell, while he's at it, maybe Roberts should propose reducing the terms of idiotic state reps from two to zero years. I think that's what the Oklahoma people would really like.
Seriously, though, what's the point of this? Did ALEC mess up and not fix a typo in their bill? Does the Oklahoma Sheriffs' Association have video of Roberts receiving golden showers from lobbyists at the Skirvin? Knowing what we know about Oklahoma sheriffs and Oklahoma lawmakers, it wouldn't surprise me.
Then again, I guess this could be the Oklahoma GOP's way of addressing low voter turnout. Yeah, eliminating local elections is probably the wrong way to go about it, but at least the election board will save some money. Well, that is until they have to hold special elections to replace all the county officials who are convicted of fraud, embezzlement or helping their son deal meth while serving their 24-year terms. In that case, the savings would cancel out.
