To the editor:

On Election Day, the folks in Onondaga County overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure increasing county legislative terms from two to four years, while their neighbors to the east on I-90 in Herkimer County overwhelmingly defeated a ballot measure calling for a similar increase from two to four years. The difference between the two? Onondaga’s ballot measure also set specific term limits for all county legislators. Herkimer’s did not.

Back in 2016, I actively engaged in what turned out to be an unsuccessful campaign to elect an independent candidate to Congress. During that campaign, we saw how New York’s political machine protects party loyalists (on both sides of the aisle) and silences fresh ideas and new voices (on both sides of the aisle). Since that time, I have helped build Unite NY, a nonpartisan, nonprofit dedicated to reforming elections and strengthening democracy in New York state.

The issue of term limits is a top priority for Unite NY, along with ranked-choice voting, citizen ballot initiatives, open primaries and better ballot access. Together, these reforms give New York residents more choices, ensuring accountability, and making our government work better for the people it serves.

Too often, in New York, our electoral processes preserve old, closed-door policies that benefit those in power rather than serve the people.

This time around, however, the electorate in both counties made critical choices on ballot measures that looked similar but had very different intentions. And the folks in both counties got it right.

Voters in Onondaga saw a clear opportunity to adopt a measure designed to sustain good government by requiring the periodic turnover of elected officials, ensuring fresh ideas and broader participation by the general public, and they embraced it. Voters in Herkimer County saw a move to double the length of each legislative term with no end in sight. And they flat-out rejected it.

Our politics can be better. Onondaga County legislators and residents have proven, by taking this step to bring term limits, that they are committed to improving our democracy and creating a better path forward. And, in fact, Herkimer County residents have done the very same thing, rejecting the wolf in sheep’s clothing presented to them on this last ballot.

Good on the voters in both counties.

John Bullis

Unite NY state lead

Fairfield