The Detroit times., 1911-01-17
TO DOUBLE TERMS
OF CITY OFFICERS
Aldermen Plan To Submit Charter
Amendment Making Extension
To Four Years.

Extension of the terms of the
mayor, city clerk and city treasurer
aldermen and members of the board
OF estimates from two to four years
is the plan contemplated by the Re
publican aldermen In the common
council. Aid. Thomas Gilman, of the
Eighteenth ward, Is engineering the
plan and will introduce in the coun
Gil next week, for submission to the
people In the coming spring election
a charter amendment extending the
terms of the aldermen and estima
tors and providing for the election cI
one from each ward every two years
That Ia as far as the scheme goes
for the present. To extend the terms
of the mayor and other officers men
toned another amendment will be re-
quired later on.
The four-year term idea, as far az
the aldermen and estimators are con
cerned, was considered by the Repub.
lican members In q secret caucus
held In the city clerks ONCE, Mon
day, at which Aid. Gilman presided
All the aldermen present pledged
themselves to support the proposed
charter amendment. This Is quite at
variance with the recommendation
made by Mayor Thompson In his In.
augural message, that one alderman
be elected from each ward every
year, to serve for two years AZ at
present.
I'VE are not declaring war on the
mayor as has been intimated,' said
Aid. Glipnan, Tuesday morning "This
plan has been talked of for Ions
time and we believe Il is the most
satisfactory means that could. be de
vised for splitting up the elections
and making them less cumbersome.
IL the charter amendment goes
through, IL would be necessary ia
1912, to elect two sets Of aldermen
and two sets of estimators, one set
TO hold ofice for four years and the
other for two. In 1914 and every two
years thereafter, only one set OF al
dermen and estimators would be
elected, for the full term OF four
years. That would be good year to
begin electing the mayor, city clerk
and city treasurer for four-year
terms, and in this way the general
municipal elections could be kept
separate fro mthe national elections.
Mayor Thompson is not inclined to
take issue with the council on the
proposition.
"The council can go ahead and do
anything 1t likes" he said. Il am
satisfied as long as the people have
the last say. II the people want to
accept this plan that has been pro-
posed then they should have 1t. As
To the four-year term for mayor, II
would hardly be becoming for me to
discuss that. IL the charter is
changed in that respect, however,
think II should provide for the right
of recall"
"The four-year term idea for alder
men and estimators Is all right, SAID
Corporation Counsel Hally. only !
would like to see. the elections held
on the odd rather than on the even
years. else there is bound to be con.
flict with the national elections Ii
that were done, there would be no
necessity for redistricting the voting
districts, as the elections would be so
divided that the work OF counting the
ballots would not be arduous. 4,
"Of course, as most OF the presi'
dents of the United States for the
next dozen or 16 years are going TO
be Democrats, We have notnlng 10
fea. from the holding OF municipal
elections In conjunction with federa'
elections, but as a matter OF absolute
fairness and justice, tn etwo ought 10
he divorced, and that can only De
done by holding the local elections In
the odd years"