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By Nick Tomboulides, CEO of U.S. Term Limits.
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Letter to the Editor: Is it ethical for Mayfield to run again for Senate after being termed out?
Published on
In Jurassic Park, Jeff Goldblum’s character, Dr. Malcolm famously says: “you were so preoccupied with whether you could, you didn’t stop to think if you should.”
I’m now thinking State Rep. Debbie Mayfield has never heard that line.Mayfield and her team are celebrating, as the Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that she may stay on the ballot in the upcoming special election for State Senate district 19. The case centered on if a politician who term limited out after eight years can run again after sitting out only a few weeks.
Secretary of State Cord Byrd had previously thrown Mayfield off the ballot. Byrd believed ― as any reasonable person would ― that Mayfield, having just finished eight consecutive years in the State Senate between 2016-2024, was term limited and not eligible to be a state senator again in 2025.Byrd’s interpretation of our term limits law is the same one the framers of that law had. It’s also the same interpretation most Floridians have today. The law was expressly designed to demolish the idea of career politicians and restore citizen government. But our State Supreme Court apparently didn’t get the memo.In ruling for Mayfield, the justices just created a dangerous precedent that may lead to the total dilution of term limits. From this point on, termed-out legislators will hand pick and fund ghost candidates whose job is to win the election and immediately resign. Then the ex-legislator, similar to Mayfield, can game the system and run in the special election claiming their term limits clock has been reset. The practical effect of this bait-and-switch will be to abolish term limits altogether. If Florida starts looking more like Illinois and New York ― states that have no term limits and can’t build jails fast enough for all their corrupt politicians ― we will have Debbie Mayfield and this Court to thank.
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Obviously, the legal issue has now been decided. But the ethics issue remains. Is it right for Mayfield to use a loophole and stay on the ballot when her candidacy violates every principle that term limits represent? Mayfield is essentially the opposite of George Washington. As our first President, Washington had no term limit and still decided to step aside. Mayfield has a term limit and runs anyway. It’s important to remember that just because a court allows it, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.
Brevard County voters must not mistake the Court’s ruling as conferring legitimacy on Mayfield or her candidacy. Activist judges have gotten many things wrong and continue to do so. For example, in the 2005 case Kelo v. New London, five justices on the U.S. Supreme Court said the government could legally steal a person’s land and give it to another private party. That only made it legal, not right. The same is true here.If Mayfield is re-elected, she will likely serve through 2032 and may be allowed to run again ― potentially giving her 24 consecutive years in Tallahassee. That is more time than Bernie Sanders and Lindsey Graham have each spent in the U.S. Senate. She is demonstrating her desire to be a career politician, which is what Florida voters intended to eliminate when we voted for term limits.
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Anyone who has met a campaigning politician knows how polished and friendly they can be. While getting wooed by candidates, who tend to become our friends, it’s easy to overlook basic principles such as term limits. But after long tenure in office, politicians’ egos grow and they start to represent special interests more than they represent their neighbors. We must not take for granted the limits Florida voters have in place to check politicians’ egos.Eight-year term limits have produced an economic renaissance in Florida. Term limited legislators are closer to and more representative of their constituents. Studies show that term limits have reduced taxes, reduced waste, and led to Florida being one of the most well-run states in America. When Debbie Mayfield appears on the ballot in April, these are truths voters shouldn’t forget.
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