Ballot question 'A' explained. The push for stricter term limits in Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Voters headed to the polls in Montgomery County to cast their ballot in the Nov. 5 presidential election, will also be asked to decide on term limits. 

A citizens group is pushing to reduce the amount of time someone can serve as county executive. The Committee for Better Government secured more than 15,000 of the 10,000 signatures needed to get the referendum on the November ballot. 

Currently, the county charter states a county executive can hold three consecutive four-year terms, or 12 years. If the question passes, the charter would be amended to two consecutive term limits. 

"You really need new, fresh ideas in the government sooner than 12 years," said Reardon Sullivan. 

Sullivan heads the Committee for Better Government. The Republican lost against current County Executive, Marc Elrich (D) two years ago. However, he insists this initiative is not personal, and should be in place regardless of who is in office. 

"The president has two terms, the governor has two terms and the idea is that the executive branch typically is two terms," said Sullivan. 

But Democratic leaders in the county disagree. They are urging voters to say 'no' to the referendum, calling it a political stunt from Republicans. 

"The next county executive they're going to have, if they're unhappy with him or her, are they going to term limit them to one term? The question becomes is where is the cycle going to end," said Saman Qadeer Ahmad, Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair. 

If the initiative is successful, it would impact Elrich, who is serving his second consecutive term as county executive. He would not be eligible to run for re-election in 2026. 

"This has nothing to do with the wisdom of term limits, this was a play by the Republican party, which knows it couldn't beat me in a free and fair election, so the next best thing to do is to figure out how to make it so I can't run again," said Elrich. 

The Montgomery County Republican Party is in support of this measure. However, the Montgomery County Charter Review Commission is against it. 

The bipartisan, 10-member commission found unanimously that the group's petition, which seeks to prevent the county executive from running for a third term, is 'unnecessary,' according to a report released by the commission over the summer.