Northampton Co. Council overrides vetoes, sending term limit questions to voters

EASTON, Pa. — Northampton County Council voted to override a trio of vetoes from County Executive Lamont McClure, again placing term limits for county elected officials on the November ballot.

General election voters will see at least three ballot questions in November, asking to create term limits for the county executive, county controller and council members.

• Northampton County Council overrode vetoes to place term limits for most county elected officials on the November general election ballot. 
• The council also introduced a new measure creating a similar ballot question to place term limits on the district attorney
• If voters approve the executive, controller and DA could serve two consecutive terms; members of council could serve three consecutive terms.

Council members also introduced a measure that would create similar limits for the district attorney, also pending approval by voters.

Council will vote in two weeks on that; it is not clear whether it, too, would draw a veto from McClure.

If voters approve, the executive and controller could serve no more than two consecutive terms, while members of council could serve three. If the new measure ultimately takes effect, the district attorney would be subject to a two-consecutive-term limit.

Commissioners supporting the measure were clear in earlier discussions that officeholders could run for additional time after taking a term off.

“None of us here sitting on council are Strom Thurmond. None of us sitting here on council today are decrepit,” said Commissioner Tara Zrinski. She opposed the override, and did not vote on term limits for county controllers. “This referendum will take away the votes of all future voters.”

“If people say they want it, they will then vote for it,” council member John Goffredo responded. “It’s good practice to get fresh blood.”

“There's been a lot of insinuations about the why and the who and the motive and whatever. I just think it’s that county council has done its job,” said Commissioner Lori Vargo Heffner.

The push for term limits originated in discussions among county council. Because implementing it means amending the county’s home rule charter, council can only get the measure as far as a ballot question.

Voters will be asked to weigh in on at least three ballot questions in November — one for each office that could be limited.

Members of the council previously passed an ordinance creating three-consecutive-term limits. However, that lacks the force of an amendment to the home rule charter.

The clock on when consecutive terms begin would start once the measure takes effect, allowing McClure — now in his second term — to seek a third term in 2025, as he recently announced he intends to do.