Lots of folks these days are talking about North Dakota’s term limits laws. The discussion is whether Legislators should be allowed to serve no more than eight years in the North Dakota House of Representatives and eight years in the North Dakota Senate, or whether they should be allowed to serve a total of 16 years anywhere they can get elected. I think we’re going to vote on that this fall, although I’m not sure. There’s a lawsuit in the North Dakota Supreme Court which might keep it off the ballot.
So there’s a great debate about 8 years or 16 years. The point is, do we really need term limits for North Dakota Legislators? Much ado about nothing, I’d say.
I think about half of my readers are old enough to remember the glory days of the North Dakota Legislature. If you are, then, probably like me, you’re not too excited about term limits. Because you recognize the names Richard Backes and Earl Strinden. Those were probably the two best North Dakota Legislators ever.
Oh, they were in pretty good company. They were the leaders for many years in the North Dakota House of Representatives. Across the hall in the North Dakota Senate, David Nething and Buckshot Hoffner ran things.
Up in the Speaker’s chair in the House sat people like Oscar Solberg and Tish Kelly. Wayne Sanstead and Ruth Meiers presided over the Senate.
And you know what? Lots of those folks served in their positions far longer than 8 years. Some longer than 16.
And you know what else? They got things done. Things like taxes on oil and coal, big contributors to North Dakota’s budget. The best mined-land reclamation laws in the country. Public radio and television. Sunday opening. I could go on . . . you can add things you remember.
What I remember most is the toe-to-toe battles across the center aisle in the House of Representatives between Backes and Strinden, and then bumping onto them having a drink together at the Town House that evening, with Buckshot and Barth and Nething and Melland at the next table.
I wouldn’t be having those memories today if we had term limits in those days. Strinden, 22 years in the House; Backes, 24 years in the House; Hoffner, 18 years, some in the House, some in the Senate (it just seemed like a whole lot more); and Nething, an incredible 45 years in the Senate.
And there was nothing wrong with that. They retired, or died (Hoffner, Strinden, and Nething lived into their 90s, Backes only 74) as friends, and they passed a lot of landmark legislation for the people of North Dakota.
And there are other examples. Tell me anything really bad done by Brynhild Haugland, Tim Mathern, or Bob Martinson, all over 40 years (I’m leaving a former Grand Forks State Senator off that list).
And as far as Executive Branch term limits, well, I think Bill Guy (12 years) and Ben Meier (he was there so long everyone thought secretaryofstatebenmeier was one word) did just fine until they retired when they got old.
So for me, the debate over term limits is not over 8 or 16 years. It’s about whether we need them or not. I say NOT.
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