In a special election Tuesday in the city of Kiowa, voters resoundingly told their city leaders they favor term limits.
Earlier this year, the Kiowas City Council voted to lift term limits first adopted in the 1970s. A petition forced a special election and a “no” vote Tuesday was against the charter ordinance ending term limits. The unofficial tally was 157 voting no and 38 voting yes, according to the Barber County Clerk’s office. There is one provisional ballot. Canvassing of election returns will take place Monday.
Councilmembers and the mayor have been limited to two consecutive four-year terms.
City Administrator Lou Leone said city leaders have talked off and on in recent years about removing term limits. When another Barber County city – Medicine Lodge – failed to attract ballot candidates for city offices in the 2017 election cycle, that spurred Kiowa to take up the issue.
“The city of Kiowa has a hard time even filling positions,” Leone said. “We’ve had elections in the past where we have three open seats and three run,” he said.
It’s unusual for cities to have term limits, Leone said. His research found Kiowa, with an estimated 980 residents, is the smallest city to have limits.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)