Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, August 22, 1994                   TAG: 9408220105
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TODAY'S TOPIC: TERM LIMITS

- John Garrett, Roanoke

COLEMAN: "I support term limits. Congress as an institution has lost touch with the people. Members who have been in Congress for 20 or 25 years seem to get wrapped up more in the perks of office and the ways of Washington than in doing what's right for their constituents, but they become so entrenched it's difficult for a challenger to dislodge them. Membership in Congress should be a public service, not a way of life."

NORTH: "I support term limits - 12 years [six terms] for the House members and 12 years [two terms] for the Senate. We need to return to the citizen-legislature concept, so that legislators can do the job and return to the private sector. If we have no term limits on candidates for public office, we create a group of professional politicians who are more interested in the next election rather than the next generation. Voters willing, I have pledged to serve only two terms - and then return to the private sector."

ROBB: "I don't regard them as a 'silver bullet,' or a panacea, to all the problems of government. I'm not an advocate, but there are too many highly capable potential replacements to lose any sleep if term limits were enacted."

WILDER: "I support term limits and as Virginia's next U.S. senator would serve no more than two terms. I should point out that as governor of the commonwealth of Virginia, I was subject to term limits. No governor may serve more than one consecutive term. In time, I came to understand the wisdom of our forefathers in instituting term limits. It enables elected officials to concentrate only on performing their jobs to the best of their ability, with no concern for re-election."

Keywords:
POLITICS