Mayoralty candidate Rocco Rossi wants to make sure no councillor or mayor overstays their welcome.
In addition to giving voters the power to recall politicians who don't live up to their word, Rossi said the morning of Thursday, Sept. 2 that he wants to impose a two-term limit on any mayor, and a three-term limit for any councillor."I truly believe that holding political office is a time of service rather than a career," Rossi told reporters outside Queen's Park. "It's one of the highest callings available in a democracy but it's not a retirement plan. Members of council should not be settling in to long, cozy careers at taxpayers' expense. You don't have a job for life. Why should they?"Rossi introduced that plan - and a plan to enable internet and telephone voting - as a companion to the promise he made earlier this week, to convince the provincial government to impose a system that allowed voters to recall their representatives. That plan got a cool reception by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. But Rossi cited a Forum Research poll released Wednesday indicating that 73 per cent of Torontonians supported voter recall."When people speak, politicians should and must listen and I will be the champion for the people's voice on this," he said. "There was a time when mixed martial arts wasn't on the agenda either. Yet when popular support came out, suddenly it came on the agenda. The same will happen with these issues, if Torontonians really want them. Which I believe, and we're hearing, that they do."The two- and three- term limit would, said Rossi, help erode the power of incumbency, that makes it difficult if not impossible for new voices and ideas to come to city hall."But if after a time out of office a politician wants to throw his or her hat back into the municipal ring they would be able to, but consecutive terms would be limited."Rossi's plan for internet voting and telephone voting would, he hoped, help boost voter turnout."Peterborough and Markham do it. In Markham, internet voting was permitted for the first time for advance polls in the 2003 election. While overall turnout for that election remained unchanged, turnout for the advance polls increased by 300 per cent. In Halifax, advance polls offering internet and phone voting increased turnout by over 50 per cent," he said.