GRAND JUNCTION–Voters in Mesa County on election Tuesday thoroughly shot down a series of ballot measures aimed at expanding term-limits for elected county-wide offices.
The Colorado Constitution limits local elected officials to two consecutive 4-year terms in office, but also authorizes voters to “lengthen, shorten, or eliminate” those restrictions at the ballot box. For example, Garfield County, also on the Western Slope, long ago did away with term-limits entirely for all county-wide offices, including commissioners, while voters in neighboring Montrose and Delta counties previously eliminated term-limits for elected officials other than commissioners.
Mesa County voters in 2009 expanded eligibility for the elected district attorney to three terms, but in this most recent Nov. 7 election, thoroughly rejected the four term-limit expansion measures put forth by county commissioners:
Ballot question 1A, which added a third term of eligibility for the county assessor, failed 63-37
Ballot Question 1B, which added a third term of eligibility for the clerk and recorder, failed 66-34.
Ballot Question 1C, which added a third term for the county surveyor, failed 60-40.
Ballot Question 1D, which added a third term for the county treasurer, failed 65-35.
