DOVER, Del.- Four months have passed since his bill faced a committee hearing, and three months remain until the General Assembly reconvenes, yet State Sen. Eric Buckson is raising the topic of legislative term limits.
Right now, only Delaware's governor and lieutenant governor face term limits. Sen. Buckson (R-Dover South) said changing that status quo is not only a campaign promise of his but "a move that must be made."
He introduced Senate Bill 79 in April, proposing a limit of four terms for senators, seven terms for representatives, and two terms for other elected offices. It failed to advance beyond the Senate Executive Committee.
In a statement to WBOC, Senate Democratic Caucus spokesperson Scott Goss explained why, saying, "Sen. Buckson failed to convince a majority of his colleagues on the committee to support his bill during its hearing on May 10. He failed to convince a single resident of the State of Delaware to provide public comment during that hearing and failed to garner a letter of written testimony from the public since then."
In our discussions with Delawareans Tuesday, there was clear support for the implementation of term limits.
Diana Niebrzydowski noted, "Sometimes people are in too long, and their ideas... we need fresh ideas all the time."
Another, Rachael McDonough, said, "I think there should be a limit on every person's power, especially with huge decisions. I don't think we should have 80-year-old men just bossing us around."
Irvin Wright of Dover asked, "If the people who are above [the legislators] have term limits, how come the people under them don't?" A question Buckson said he's been asking himself.
"The ones who created the term limits for the governor and the president are the ones that control this bill, so it was good for the governor and president, but it's not good for them, in essence, and that doesn't make sense to me."
While state senators must win an election every four years and state representatives every two, Buckson shared his view that incumbents, with their existing support and funding, enjoy a privileged position.
He partly attributes his own win in last September's primaries, where he defeated one of the longest-serving members of Delaware's State Senate, to his four-term stint as Kent County's 4th district commissioner.
Senate Bill 79 represents the first attempt at a constitutional amendment in Delaware. To become law, it would need to pass two consecutive General Assemblies.
The bill would not prevent those who have reached term limits from running for another state seat or office.