Jacob Naven wants to see term limits in Manteca.

Naven — who indicated when he announced he was challenging Gary Singh for the mayor’s post in the Nov. 3 election that term limits were one of the things he’d tackle if elected — said Wednesday he supports a ballot measure to determine if that is what voters want.

Mayor Gary Singh agrees with Naven.

“If that is what people decide, I’ll support it,” Singh said.

Naven listed a number of reasons he believes eight years is enough in any one particular elected office:

*rapid societal changes from the economy to artificial intelligence demand new ideas.

*it can take a toll on elected leader’s health, Naven said referencing Supervisor Sonny Dhaliwal — who served five two-year terms as Lathrop mayor before being elected to the count board and recently had bypass surgery.

*the built in power of the incumbency makes challenging elected officials in office a daunting endeavor.

*the time demand that takes away from spending time with families.

Naven pointed to the fact that Singh will respond to social media postings by his constituents sometimes at 3 a.m. He said it underscores what he sees as the overtaxing demand in today’s world of being an elected official.

“What Gary is doing is great,” Naven said specifically of Singh’s efforts to constantly communicate with constituents.

But, as Naven repeatedly emphasized, it comes at a price.

There is little doubt Singh has rewritten the playbook for expectations people have of Manteca’s mayor.

He is by far the most social media active elected official in city history.

But he has eclipsed that with in-person endeavors such as the 100 plus meetings which small and large gatherings in neighborhoods leading up to the Measure Q sales tax to explain the need for the measure. His effort is widely accepted as being key to its narrow passage.

Singh, with the rest of the council, has established quarterly town hall style meeting in the four council districts.

“This is not a job for the weak,” Singh said.

Singh said the job of the mayor needed to be re-invented given it is now the only citywide position voters elect since the shift to district council elections.

That is especially true given Manteca is on the cusp of 100,000 residents.

In any case, Naven believes the city and its residents would be better served with elected leadership that doesn’t stay in place 12, 16, or more years even if it is across two different offices such as mayor and council.

He sees a danger of an entrenched leadership not being flexible enough to pivot when community needs and sentiments shift.

Singh, while indicating he’d embrace the people’s will on term limits if they were put in place at the ballot box, indicated constant turnover on the council runs the risk of staff being the primary driver of key decision making that guides the city over time.

It should be noted since the direct election of mayor was instituted in 1980, only one person has served three terms as mayor, which was Willie Weatherford who also served six years as a council member.

There have been only been four people who served on the council or as council members and then mayor for 12 years or more. They were Debby Moorehead, Vince Hernandez, Steve DeBrum, John Harris, and Jack Snyder.

Harris was the longest serving elected official in terms of only being a councilman with 20 years in the position.

Snyder was the longest serving as either an elected mayor or a council member at 24 years.

The longest anyone currently in the council has served is Singh. He is in his fourth year as mayor after serving six years on the council.

What term limits

might entail for city

Both would favor the approach voters took with the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors in 1998 when they limited Supervisors to two four year-terms.

That would limit council members to two terms and mayors to two terms. A person would be able to serve two terms as a council member and two terms as mayor.

In order for such a measure to be placed on the ballot, the council would have to do so or a petition with a set number of registered city voters would need to be circulated and verified.

Theoretically, such a measure could end up on the ballot this November if someone tried to do so using either route and completed needed steps beside a mid-August deadline.

If it passed, it wouldn’t go into effect until the 2028 election cycle.

It would also need to address nuances such as if it could be applied retroactively to those who have already held either office as well as how this serve for less than a four-year term and how a partial term served as an appointment to a vacancy would be handled.

If such a term limit was in place and applied to the current election, it would not have prevented Singh from seeking re-election. He is in his first term of mayor after serving six years or one and a half terms as a council member.

That would or be the case for either Dave Breitenbucher and Mike Morowit who are seeking their third council term.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com