29-01-2025
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
