Westchester County voters will be asked on their ballots whether to increase terms for county legislators to four years from two while keeping a 12-year limit for that office.
The county’s 17-member Board of Legislators voted unanimously to place that referendum on the ballot, saying that longer terms would reduce election costs, cut the amount of time legislators spend campaigning, and give them more time in one term to develop expertise and follow plans to fruition.
The short question is on the back of voters’ ballots, along with a statewide proposal to add abortion and LGBTQ rights to New York’s constitution — the Equal Rights Amendment — and local propositions in three Westchester municipalities. Mail-in voting for the Nov. 5 election started last month, and in-person early voting begins on Saturday.
If approved by voters, the longer terms for county legislator would begin with next year’s elections for all 17 seats — with one element of legal uncertainty affecting the term length.
When would the new terms start?
New York passed a law last year to move certain local elections — those for county executive, county legislator and town board seats — to even-numbered years instead of odd years. It was pitched as a way to boost voter participation in those races by putting them on the same ballot as higher-turnout contests for President, Congress, governor and state legislature.
That transition was set to begin in 2025 with shortened terms, which means the first lengthened terms for Westchester legislator would actually be trimmed to three years for next year’s election. (The full four-year terms would start with the 2028 election.)
But several counties sued to block the law as unconstitutional and won a court decision in Onondaga County in October, halting the move to even-year elections unless appeals courts overturn the ruling. Opponents have argued that local elections would get drowned out by national politics in even years and should be held separately.
Westchester has limited legislators to serving no more than 12 consecutive years — six two-year terms —since 2011. The proposed charter change being put to voters would keep the 12-year limit while increasing the length of each term to four years.
The current board consists of 15 Democrats, one Republican and one Conservative. The base salary for a legislator is $75,000.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and the USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester NY voters asked to determine legislators’ term limits
