Chris Reykdal Just Did What Washington Voters Asked for in 1992
Chris Reykdal just announced he won't run for a fourth term as Washington's superintendent of public instruction. No law forced him. No court forced him. He said the position belongs to the people, not the person holding it.
In 1992, Washington voters passed Initiative 573 to cap how long officeholders could stay. The courts killed it. Thirty-four years later, Reykdal is the first statewide officeholder to set his own term limit. Meanwhile, Patty Murray — first elected on that same 1992 ballot — plans to run again at 78 for a term that would end when she's 84. Charlie Harger on why the founders argued about this too, and why the only term limit with teeth is the one you set yourself.
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