Limints

From page 1 1994 and, if elected, seek re-election in 1998, regardless of how long they had served on the council. The term-limit law states, in part: "No person shall serve as Mayor or as a member of the City Council for a combined period of more than eight consecutive years. (Any person) shall again be eligible for election or appointment as Mayor or member of the City Council provided not less than two years has or will have elapsed." The last clause of the term-limit law allows an exception to the eight-year limit for council members who were in office in 1992. "Further, any member of the City Council, including the Mayor, in office on November 3,1992, and who would otherwise be ineligible to seek election to the office of Mayor in 1994 due to the operation of this section, shall be eligible for re-election to the office of Mayor in 1998, not withstanding any other provision of this section." Daly, Ehrle, Pickler, Hunter and Bob Simpson were on the council at the time of the 1992 election. Ehrle lost his council re-election bid in 1992. Hunter and Pickler, who were ineligible to remain on the council, did not run for mayor in 1994. Simpson, who was eligible for a second council term, did not seek re-election or run for mayor. Before 1994, the mayor served two years and had to be a sitting City Council member. A 1991 charter amendment changed one of the five council seats to a four-year mayor's seat beginning with the 1994 election. That election was chosen because three council seats were on the 1994 ballot. The language of the term-limit law was discussed by council members for about six months / before the council voted on July 28,1992, to approve the final version that appeared on the ballot. Zemel, however, takes exception to Daly's re-election bid. Though he still believes the law was crafted for Daly's benefit, Zemel "absolutely" would have the same opposition to Hunter a political ally at the time the law was written or any of the other 1992 councilmen if they were in Daly'"(Daly) has every right to run but... I would argue that he is violating the spirit of the law," Zemel said. Daly said the clause was added with the consent of all but Pickler to put the members on a level playing field with respect to the newly established mayor's seat. Daly said he is a "strong supporter of the (term-limit) measure" who campaigned for the measure in 1992. "If (Zemel) had opinions in 1992, he didn't express them during council meetings," Daly said. Zemel unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 1988 and 1992. He was a planning commissioner at the time the ballot measure was discussed. Daly defeated Hunter in the mayor's race in 1992, the same year he won re-election to the council. He was elected to the four-year mayor's seat in 1994.