Lynn Haven residents will vote on term limits for city commissioners in April election

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·2 min read

LYNN HAVEN − Residents soon will decide how long elected officials should hold their offices.

A referendum is scheduled to appear on ballots in the 2023 municipal elections that would set a two-term limit for members of the Lynn Haven City Commission. However, it is a consecutive term limit, meaning they could run again after a short break.

Lynn Haven currently does not have any term limits listed in its city charter.

Mayor Jesse Nelson says Lynn Haven residents will vote on a referendum in the 2023 municipal elections in April to set term limits for elected officials.
Mayor Jesse Nelson says Lynn Haven residents will vote on a referendum in the 2023 municipal elections in April to set term limits for elected officials.

"The way we understand it is you could serve two consecutive terms as commissioner, and then you would have to take a break for two years, and then you could run again to serve another two consecutive years," Mayor Jesse Nelson said. "It's not term limits for life."

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Nelson, who noted there are past Lynn Haven officials who served for more than two straight decades, said the commission approved the referendum at a meeting on Jan. 24. It was developed and suggested by a charter review committee created by the city in May 2021.

The referendum is one of four referendums that will appear on ballots for Lynn Haven residents in April. According to the city's website, the other three are:

  • To mandate periodic charter reviews every five years, require background checks for the city manager and department heads, allow 30 days to fill commission vacancies, clarify the canvass of returns for elections, and approve formatting and grammatical revisions of the charter.

  • To fix compensation for the mayor and commissioners, rather than the city commission having the ability to set those rates.

  • To approve the appointment of a mayor pro tempore and interim city manager to serve in the absence of the mayor and city manager.

There are four positions on the Lynn Haven Commission up for election this year. They are Seat 1, occupied by Brandon Aldridge; Seat 2, occupied by Pat Perno; Seat 4, previously occupied by Judy Tinder; and the mayor.

All current officials are running for re-election, apart from Tinder, who resigned as commissioner on Tuesday and now plans to run against Nelson for mayor.

Nelson said he thinks the term limits, if approved by residents, will have a positive impact on the city.

"Hopefully it means that more citizens will get engaged, and that we as elected officials will just continue to make the most of our time while we're serving in office, realizing that we have a limited time to do the best we can for our community," he said.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Lynn Haven residents will decide whether to limit commissioners' terms