A sneaky politician in Florida is cheating term limits by running for re-election despite having reached his eight-year limit.
James Grant (R-Tampa) was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2010 and is term-limited in 2018. He has not only filed to run for a fifth consecutive term in 2018, but Grant says he wants to stay in the House to become Speaker in 2024! That would make 14 consecutive years in office, almost double the legal limit.
Grant must believe he is above the law. He is attempting to justify his actions by pointing to a brief pause in his service from 2014-2015, when Grant’s friends in the Legislature vacated his seat. He was back in the job just 155 days later, mostly missing time when the House wasn’t in session.
According to Grant, this meaningless gap started his term limit clock all over again, giving him a fresh eight years-plus.
Grant’s interpretation is baloney. Florida’s term limits were created and placed on the ballot in 1992 by a group of citizens that called itself “Eight is Enough.” The law was passed by millions of Floridians with 77 percent of the vote, and their message was clear: no legislator is to stay in office for more than eight consecutive years.
Taking a day, a week or a few months off doesn’t negate the eight consecutive years in which Grant held office.
Now, Grant – the son of a 20-year career politician – is plotting to become Speaker of the Florida House five years from now.
Can you imagine the poor example it would set to allow the face of Florida’s legislative branch to openly defy the will of our voters? Grant is unqualified to stay beyond next year, let alone vie for leadership in five years. He has to be stopped.
If you live in Florida, CLICK HERE to stop James Grant from cheating term limits.
Nick Tomboulides is Executive Director of U.S. Term Limits.