Term limits upheld where I live after 2 year fight..politician kicked out in tears

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Term limits upheld
Photos by Alan Spearman/The Commercial Appeal

County Commissioner Walter Bailey Jr. comments to the media Wednesday outside the Shelby County building about the term limits ruling.
Commission members Marilyn Loeffel and Cleo Kirk react to the ruling, which ends the re-election bids of Democrats Kirk and Bailey.

March 30, 2006

When the ballot for the May 2 Shelby County primary election is set, two county commissioners with more than 50 years of combined experience won't be on it despite a two-year fight to hang on to their seats.
An expedited ruling by the state Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld Shelby County's term limits law and ended the re-election bids of longtime County Commission Democratic incumbents Walter Bailey and Cleo Kirk.

The law at issue -- passed by 81 percent of those who voted in a referendum -- amended Shelby County's charter to impose limits of two consecutive four-year terms for county commissioners and the county mayor.
Bailey and Kirk, along with Commissioner Julian Bolton, sued county government in 2004 over the law. Bolton, also a Democrat, has since dropped out of the suit and is running for congress.

Wednesday's ruling overturned a Court of Appeals decision, reinstating the Chancery Court's earlier ruling that term limits are legal and constitutional. The high court also assessed court costs to Bailey, Bolton and Kirk.

"I'm not going to jump off the nearest bridge, but I am a bit disappointed with the court ruling," Bailey, an elected commissioner since 1971, said in an afternoon news conference.

He had hoped the court would render a ruling that would "uphold the right of the people in my district to elect their candidate of choice."

Bailey's legal team is researching whether there is a chance to appeal at the federal level, but he said he would be happy to get back to just being a trial lawyer.

"Life goes on."

Kirk, on the commission since 1989, said he is concerned so much expertise and experience will be lost. "But we're in a country that is governed by laws, and they had the final say."

To Joey Hadley, a retired sheriff's deputy who helped lead the 1994 petition drive for the referendum, the decision brought some finality to a matter that slowly worked its way through the court system and garnered interest statewide.

"It's a victory for the people. Democrats and Republicans voted for the term limits, and I just think it's a great day," said Hadley. "I hope the losers are done with it."

Another organizer of the petition drive, Dr. Linda S. Witherspoon, said the court decision validated the 1994 referendum.

"The people spoke very loud that day when they voted."

Greg Duckett, chairman of the Shelby County Election Commission, said Wednesday the removal of Bailey and Kirk from the ballot would not result in reopening the qualifying period to allow other candidates to enter those races.

Duckett said the state's attorney general issued a verbal opinion, which would be submitted in writing today, that there was no statute requiring the races to be re-opened.

The net effect, Duckett said, is that longtime Democratic leader Sidney Chism has been elected to the commission. Chism, who declined comment, was the only candidate to challenge Kirk for the District 3, Position 2 seat.

In the race for Bailey's District 2, Position 1 seat, two candidates remain: business owner J.W. Gibson and Lifeblood manager Darrick Harris.

Some local Democrats are trying to remove Gibson from the Democratic primary ballot, citing his affiliation with the Republican Party.

The Supreme Court, which held a hearing last week in Nashville on the term limits suit, acted quickly in responding to the appeals court action.

In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court ruled in November that it's unconstitutional for counties with a charter form of government, such as Shelby County, to adopt term limits for constitutional officers.

Shelby County defended the suit and argued the state Constitution allows counties to choose "alternate forms of county government" if approved by a majority of the voters. As a result, the county could establish qualifications for elected offices.

In the Supreme Court's eight-page ruling Wednesday, Chief Justice William M. Barker cited Tennessee's Constitution, which says people have an "unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper."

"The constitution is the truest expression of the will of the people," Barker wrote. "Accepting the plaintiffs' position in this case would require us to ignore the fundamental principle of self-government embodied in Article I, section I. This we are not willing to do."

At a County Commission meeting Wednesday, many elected officials and administrators expressed their appreciation for Kirk and Bailey, who, combined, have served the county more than 50 years.

"Just personally, I'm sorry to see commissioners Kirk and Bailey not continue on this commission," County Atty. Brian Kuhn said in an interview. "I hope they continue in public life, because I think they're great public officials."

Kuhn, however, said he thought the court's opinion, legally, was well-reasoned.

"It certainly follows the basic mandate of our government, and that is the authority of the government is derived from the will of the people. And the people, and their referendum, have now been upheld."

-- Michael Erskine: 529-5857