Former Town Board Candidate Asks for Term Limits for Elected Officials [POLL]

The question of whether or not there should be term limits for Yorktown officials has come up again. 

 Ed Ciffone, who ran as an independent in the 2011 election, asked town board members on Tuesday during a work session to enact a local law that would establish term limits.

Ciffone, president of the United Taxpayers of Yorktown and officer, said he is seeking two 4-year terms for councilmen or equal to eight years in total and three 2-year terms for town supervisor or six years in total.

"Every two years the voters have the chance to change the majority of the board," said Yorktown supervisor Michael Grace, who was opposed to the change. "The voters of Yorktown do a pretty good job of term limits [with their vote]."

Ciffone said if the town board did not pass the local law, members of his group would gather signatures on a petition that would trigger a referendum.

In Yorktown, there has been a new supervisor with each election since 2007. Linda Cooper, who was a supervisor for almost 12 years stepped down in October 2007 before her term was up at the end of the year. She was followed by Don Peters, who was voted out by Susan Siegel in 2009. 

Supervisor Grace defeated Siegel and was elected in 2011, as was councilman Dave Paganelli. Two others, Terrence Murphy and Vishnu Patel, have served on the board for two years. Councilman Nick Bianco has been serving on the board the longest – 16 years. 

During the work session at Town Hall, Yorktown councilman Terrence Murphy asked if a poll could be created on Yorktown-Somers Patch to get the community's opinion on the issue.

We have created the poll below. Please, vote in the poll and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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