All areas of the Kenai Peninsula Borough are feeling the impact of a two-term limit approved by borough voters in 2007. Current Borough Assembly President Milli Martin, who represents the southern Kenai Peninsula with the exclusion of the city of Homer, is leaving the assembly after constituents voted her into office in four elections. On the eastern side of the peninsula, Ron Long of Seward, a former assembly president who has been elected by constituents to serve on the assembly in three elections, also is stepping down.

On Oct. 6, borough voters will be asked again if the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly should be limited to two consecutive terms. If approved, the person could run for the assembly again after sitting out a minimum of three years. The initiative defines "term" as "a regular three-year term or any portion of a regular term served to complete a term vacated by another person, or a term that is less than three years due to a change in composition, membership structure, districting or apportionment."

Should borough voters approve term limits, the assembly won't be able to repeal or adjust term length for two years. State statute prevents assembly changes to the initiative for two years following voter approval.

If the measure fails, term limits would remain in place; however, the assembly could then change or amend the initiative by ordinance, Borough Attorney Colette Thompson said. "Or, it could be eliminated entirely," she added.

The term limits passed two years ago remain in place for the upcoming October election, leaving Martin and Long unable to run for re-election.

Current assembly member Bill Smith of Homer is an example of what can occur due to a term less than three years. After Deb Germano resigned from the assembly in 2007, Smith was elected to complete her term with one year remaining, before being re-elected in 2008. Once Smith's three-year term ends in 2011, should the initiative pass, he will not be eligible to run for office after serving only four years on the assembly.

The term limits initiative, if passed, would take effect during the 2010 election and remain valid through 2011.

Should the measure pass, assembly members Pete Sprague of Soldotna, Gary Superman of Nikiski and Paul Fischer of Kasilof would not be eligible to run in 2010. Smith, along with assembly members Charlie Pierce of Sterling and Hal Smalley of Kenai, would be limited out in 2011.

A couple of months ago, the Alliance of Concerned Taxpayers, a group advocating in favor of term limits, submitted 140 petition books with more than 2,700 signatures to the borough clerk. After the clerk verified at least 1,736 signatures were legitimate, the petition became certified and placed on the October ballot.

ACT member Victoria Pate of Nikiski said that until about 20 years ago, it was common practice for assembly members to serve two or three terms, then step down. However, this has not been the recent practice of the governing body, said Pate.

"Unfortunately, there's a great number of uncontested races because people do not want to run against an incumbent," Pate said. Incumbency is a strong asset for elected officials, even more so on the local level, she said.

Long, a member of the group Freedom to Vote, advocating against term limits, said he ran again in 2006 because no one else was running. If someone else had filed, Long said he would have supported that person.

Ruby Denison of Ninilchik, a member of ACT, views term limits as a way to encourage candidates to run for office.

"Term limits is a way for new people to have a level playing field when they want to run for an office because the incumbent has such an advantage," said Denison. "It's so difficult for a non-incumbent to win."

She also sees term limits as a tool to empower voters.

"It's just a way for the citizens to have a little more control over the borough assembly," Denison said. "We at the local level can do very little about the national situation, but we can do something about the local situation."

Turning Denison's argument around, Chris Moss, who represented Homer for two terms on the borough assembly, said limiting terms limits voters' freedom to elect a candidate of their choice.

"The reality is, that's what we're supposed to do. That's our job," he said of voters deciding who represents them. "Don't abdicate that to someone else, which is what you do if you vote for term limits."

Matt Shadle, who served one term on the Homer City Council, said freedom to vote for the candidate of choice is a "very valid argument" against term limits. However, as a proponent of the initiative, he contends "that if you limit people to two terms, there'll be more people to step forward and more people to pick from in the long run."

Long said his experience has been just the opposite. One of the reasons he opposes term limits is because several of his constituents expressed disappointment about not being able to vote for him to once again represent them.

Urging voters to understand the initiative before going to the polls, Long said it seems to be targeting the assembly, as ACT is not seeking term limits be placed on city council members. On the other hand, Shadle sees it a step in the right direction.

"Here's my take on it. I believe that local government, municipal government, state government, federal government -- if we put term limits on all of them, we'd have a much better government because we'd have a roll-over," Shadle said. "Any time you give a politician long-term power, it gets abused. I'm tired of seeing that abuse. It's clear and simple. It's nothing about who's out there right now. It's strictly the best way to run government."

Moss offered a different perspective.

"Because they've pushed term limits, everyone sits around and says, 'Yeah, I think two terms is enough because people start to go bad.' Where does that come from? A lot of it is just the promotion of two terms. Folks in favor of two terms said (current assembly members) were doing a good job, but the insinuation is that you go corrupt after two terms," Moss said.

For him, votes are the deciding factor on the length of time a person serves on the borough assembly, a job Moss said does not suit everyone. It's an area of service, he said, that can improve with time, to the benefit of the borough.

"I have to admit, when I first started (on the assembly), I thought term limits were good. New blood, new ideas, that sort of thing. But I discovered not everyone is cut out to be in politics. There are some people that are just good at it," Moss said, adding, "The longer you spend at it, the more you understand the details behind issues that have occurred in the past and you understand things quicker."

To read the initiative prior to voting on Oct. 6, see the Kenai Peninsula Borough voter pamphlet or visit the Web at www.borough.kenai.ak.us.

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky.@homernews.com.