Lenny Curry: Honor the spirit of citizen leaders with stricter ‘resign to run’ law

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In just a few months, I will conclude my second, 4-year term serving as the Mayor of Florida’s largest city, Jacksonville.

During these 8 years, it has been an honor and privilege to serve, but as a firm supporter of term limits, I respect that my time in this office will soon conclude.

Before running for office, I worked as an entrepreneur and a citizen volunteer in politics and public roles. These experiences instilled in me the belief that elected office at the local level is meant to be a pause in one’s private life to offer a new perspective to the body politic and public service to my neighbors with a limited tenure in local government.

Too often though, we see some who move from one elected city office to the next with no return to private life. While there are good and honorable people who choose this path, I believe years and sometimes decades of concurrent service strung together by running for the next local office, while still serving in another, is contrary to the intent of term limits.

It can also provide strength of incumbency that creates an advantage of access to a select few and diminishes the ability of private citizens to achieve elected office.

To remedy this and give voters in the March Jacksonville municipal election a voice, I filed legislation yesterday that asks our City Council to approve a voter referendum on this issue.

My proposal would give voters a chance to express support for a stricter “resign to run” law so those already serving in a local elected office leave that office immediately to qualify as a candidate to campaign for their next desired office. My proposal is focused on the level of government most impactful to Jacksonville, local offices here.

Jacksonville is unique as a consolidated government that is governed by a state-adopted charter. While I would prefer that the voters be voting on a direct and explicit change to our charter, there are questions raised by decades-old legal opinions that might challenge this proposal without statutory changes in Tallahassee.

That is why the referendum is to be added as a straw ballot and give local voters a chance to voice their support.

With yesterday’s filing to City Council, this proposal would be able to meet the timeline for inclusion in Jacksonville’s March first-election. I am hopeful the Jacksonville City Council will move forward on that timeline for our city to voice their will in March.

With Council passage, and voter approval in March, I would then work with state leaders to ensure any action they require to allow for revision of Jacksonville’s Charter to accomplish this important result.

We are a nation founded by citizen leaders. Private citizens at the local level quite literally became the foot soldiers who gave rise to the greatest democracy our world has ever known.

In that spirit, I believe it is imperative for our future to continue Jacksonville’s local governance in a way that encourages and supports more private citizens with a fair opportunity to run and lead this great city.

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Lenny Curry is Mayor of Jacksonville.