Back in 1992, Arkansas became one of the first states to embrace term limits for members of its Legislature.
State senators were limited to two four-year terms and state representatives had to be content with three two-year terms.
Republicans were among the biggest supporters of term limits. At least back then when the Democrats were firmly in control in both houses.
But times change and so do attitudes. After the Republicans finally took charge of the Senate and House, they decided they liked being there. And so three years ago, they slipped a little provision in what was presented to voters as a campaign reform law. The provision twisted term limits to allow lawmakers to spend up to 16 years in the same office.
Most voters never read that far. They approved the bill thinking they were cracking down on sketchy campaign finance.
Now, there is a movement to get the old term limits back. Even some Republicans say it's the right thing to do.
Supporters have to get about 85,000 signatures to get the law before the voters.
We want to know what you think. Do you support the old, stricter term limits? Or are you comfortable with a state senator or representative serving up to 16 years in office?
Send your response (50 words maximum) to [email protected] by Wednesday, Feb. 10. You can also mail your response to the Texarkana Gazette Friday Poll, at P.O. Box 621, Texarkana, TX 75504. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. We will print as many responses as we can in next Friday's paper.
Last Week: Columbia disaster
Last week's poll was about the anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Where were you when you first heard of the tragedy? Did you participate in the recovery operation?
We were traveling Interstate 30 West when in seconds, a bright, shiny and blazing Columbia with pieces falling away crossed our path. We knew contact had been lost on reentry and realized what we were seeing. That night about 9:00, a drunk driver drove his car into our living room. We will never forget that day.-C. and H.S., Texarkana, Ark.
From www.facebook.com/texarkanagazette
- I was working on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2003, at Cooper Tire. Diana and Kelley and Hope Owens were on their way to church. When they approached the end of Joe Tyl Road, they noticed what looked like a large jet vapor trail crossing the sky in the West. They learned later that it was the Columbia smoke trail as it came apart.
- My husband and I were traveling to see my sister who lived near Shreveport that day 13 years ago. We noticed in Ashdown around the paper mill the sky was full of fighter jets criss-crossing the sky. We continued driving south looking toward the sky, wondering what was happening, when we spotted the brightest silver object in the western sky headed in a southerly direction, we slowed and watched the next few minutes as the object appeared to separate and disappear. When we arrived at my sister's home, we discovered what we had just witnessed.
- I was working at the Longview News-Journal at the time and got a call from my uncle in Naples, Texas, that morning as he saw it coming over his home. Drove like mad to get to where it landed and later that day saw downtown Nacogdoches turn into a media frenzy as trucks from CNN, NBC, ABC, you name it parked to cover the story. And what an incredible and sad story it was. We saw a big piece of it in a pond and then later found pieces of it in pastures when people we knew and people we got to know called us to come and look what they had found.