Chron columnist Chip Johnson makes some terrific points today, calling for term limits on the Oakland City Council and insulting the very councilmembers he’ll have to call and interview tomorrow. According to Johnson, Ignacio De la Fuente wasn’t even in town when he beat his first serious challenger, Mario Juarez. If the incumbents don’t even have to work up a sweat, as long as they keep a few unions and district leaders happy, why should they work very hard at governing the city? Johnson doesn’t give these incumbents enough credit, in our view, but the way things stand now, no one ever needs to worry about losing his or her job. And that generally leads to sloth and other unchristian vices. At the least, term limits would let us see some fresh faces once in a while.
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