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Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bossier City voters said yes to term limits on March 29, with another vote set for Saturday
The issue of placing term limits for mayor and council members on the ballot for Bossier City voters has been an ongoing challenge. Voters approved the addition of term limits to the city charter as created by the Bossier City Charter Commission on March 29, but will revisit the issue Saturday with a new proposal advocated by the Bossier City Term Limits Coalition. Saturday's proposal would impose a three-term limit on public officials, suspending the March 29 proposal that allowed for 12 more years of service with a break. Here's what you should know ahead of Saturday's election. On Aug. 16, 2024, Cassie Mae Rogers, a registered voter in Bossier Parish and one of the signatories on a petition proposing an amendment to the Bossier City Charter for term limits for mayor and councilpersons, filed a petition for writ of mandamus ordering the Bossier City Council to call an election to present to the voters a proposition to amend the City Charter regarding term limits. The council rejected a resolution calling for an election despite a Registrar-certified petition from the Bossier City Term Limits Coalition with the requisite 2,982 signatures being delivered to the City. Following reciprocal litigation, District Judge Parker Shelf ordered the Bossier City Council to call an election to allow voters to decide on term limits. Two versions of term limits were put before the voters, the first being the term limits established by the Bossier City Charter Commission on March 29, allowing a person to return to office after a break, and Saturday's version of terms championed by the Bossier City Term Limits Coalition. "It's our version of limits which are the retroactive term limits," David Crockett of the Bossier City Term Limits Coalition stated. "That will mean that all city councilmen who have held office for more than three terms will not be able to run again. The issue that we have is, if this is not passed, then city councilmen who did not run this time because they saw the writing on the wall probably would not be able to run again. "[Jeff] Darby ran but didn't get elected. [Don] Williams, [David] Montgomery and Jeff Free did not run but basically, if we don't pass those term limits, any of the councilmen who were term limited out will be able to run again. Our call is to make sure that everybody goes out and votes on May 3 between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m." What will be the makeup of the Bossier City Council following March 29 election? Crockett said Bossier City requires change, citing a significant amount of wasteful spending through the years. He said the Bossier City Term Limits Coalition believes that friends of council members have benefitted from their prolonged tenure in office. "We just need change," Crockett stated. "We had three city councilmen [who] had been in their position for over 20 years, and it brings in new ideas to bring change in your local government." Crockett stated the Bossier City Term Limits Coalition did not believe that the March 29 term limits, which allow a person to resume office after taking a break, do not make sense. He said there's no reason for a person to run for more than three terms. "You can get in. You can serve your community and then let other people come into the city council and bring in new ideas," Crockett said. "If this one's not passed and Bossier citizens want real change — four of the city councilmen that are not elected for this next term, who'd been in forever, will be able to run again. It's important that this pass so we don't have the same group of people come back in. The same old good ole boy network." Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinson and on Facebook at This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Vote Saturday on Bossier City term limits could bypass March 29 proposal
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bossier City Council approves ballot measure for term limits: Here's what you should know
Tuesday saw the Bossier City Council vote to hold an election to vote on two measures regarding term limits for mayor and city council members. Here's what you need to know. On May 3, voters can vote "yes" or "no" to term limits, as proposed by the Bossier Term Limits Coalition, implementing a three-term limit for the mayor and councilpersons for terms served before January 1, 2024. An alternative term limits proposal will be put to a vote in March, allowing Mayor Tommy Chandler and current council members to serve for an additional 12 years and return to office after a temporary absence, as proposed by the appointed Bossier City Charter Commission. The Bossier City Term Limits Coalition submitted a petition to Bossier City officials on July 10, 2023, signed by 2,977 residents to support term limits. In response, Bossier City Attorney Charles Jacobs engaged an outside counsel to review the petition on August 11, 2023. The outside counsel subsequently requested the input of the Louisiana Attorney General's Office four days later. It was determined that the petition lacked proper requirements, such as date of birth. However, a petition signed and certified on July 25, 2024, has all the required information requested in the original petition from 2023. 2,928 names were verified on the petition calling to amend the Bossier City Charter, allowing the mayor and city council members to serve up to three terms. A court ruled that the Bossier City Council calls an election if the required number of signatures is met. The vote to pass a resolution calling for a spring election on term limits was unanimous, though council members Jeffrey Darby and Vince Maggio were absent. Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinsonand on Facebook at This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Term limits to appear on ballot following Bossier City Council approval
