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110 <br /> A discussion about the attorney general opinion ensued. Duane McCarty explained <br /> how he thought Minn. Stat. Sec. 410.21 authorized charter cities to control <br /> elections and that limiting terms could fall within that state grant of authority. <br /> Russ Warren restated that it's not unlawful to vote and adopt a term limit measure <br /> and the legality of term limits is not clear. Therefore he asserted that the only <br /> question for the commission should be whether we want term limits to go to the <br /> voters. The legality of the measure could be determined after the election. <br /> A discussion of the legal issues followed. Some commissioners disagreed with <br /> Duane McCarty's assertion that Minn. Stat. Sec. 410.21 allows a charter city to <br /> determine qualifications of those filing for office. Julie Trude asserted that this <br /> statute only allows cities to control administrative details related to elections and <br /> that in addition, the Minnesota Constitution would be violated if a charter city <br /> limited a person's right to file for or run for local office. Jerry Linke agreed that <br /> 4111 term limits violated his constitutional rights to file or run for local office; he argued <br /> that the voters ultimately determine at each election whether an elected official's <br /> term should end. Others noted that the legal issues were not clear because there <br /> had been no court cases on the issue in Minnesota. Duane McCarty circulated <br /> information about term limit's constitutionality in New York. Richard Oman noted <br /> that term limits are in effect in about 15 states. Others did not focus on the legal <br /> issues, they simply asked that the voters be allowed to vote on the measure; the <br /> constitutional issues could be resolved later. There was no consensus on the legal <br /> issues. The commission was very split on their reading of the law and on the effect <br /> term limits could have. <br /> Motion by Russ Warren, second by Richard Oman, that the commission submit the <br /> following term limit proposal to the voters as drafted: <br /> "Sec. 4.02, Subdivision 2. Term Limits. No elected City office <br /> holder will be allowed to serve more than eight consecutive years in <br /> the same office." <br /> • <br /> -3- <br />