MIAMI — The Miami City Commission has deferred a vote on a proposal to create lifetime term limits for elected officials, with the commission’s chairwoman — the necessary swing vote — saying the concept is “too extreme.”

The proposal, spearheaded by Commissioner Damian Pardo, would limit elected officials to two terms as mayor and two terms as commissioner during their lifetime.

It represents a major shakeup to a system that currently allows elected officials to, under the right circumstances, spend decades in City Hall. As it stands now, an elected official in Miami is limited to two consecutive full terms, which are four years each. But the rules don’t stop a person from running again for the same seat a few years later.

Even if passed by the commission, Pardo’s proposal would ultimately need to be approved by voters in a ballot referendum.

On Thursday, the City Commission was scheduled to take a vote to direct the city attorney to draft language for the ballot question. That drafted language would then need to come back to the commission, likely sometime in the summer, for final approval before being sent to the November ballot.

Many residents expressed support for Pardo’s proposal at Thursday’s meeting. Resident Dara Jeffries said limiting the number of terms that a person can serve in elected office “prevents political dynasties from taking root.”

“Long-term incumbency leads to entrenched political interests, and that leads to the potential for corruption,” Jeffries said. “By limiting the number of terms that an individual can serve, we really reduce the likelihood of power consolidation and undo special interests. Fresh leadership also brings new perspectives and new ideas and makes it harder for corrupt practices to take root and to flourish.”

With Commissioner Manolo Reyes absent due to illness, Pardo needed support from at least two of the remaining three commissioners to move the proposal forward. During Thursday’s discussion, however, it became apparent that he wasn’t going to get there, with Miguel Angel Gabela being the only commissioner on board.

Pardo asked for a deferral, and the proposal is now slated to come back at the April 24 meeting in what may be a watered-down version.

Commissioner Christine King, who was the potential swing vote, emphasized Thursday that she supports term limits. However, she said she would not support lifetime term limits, which she called “too rigid” and “too inflexible.”

“It takes away choice from my constituents,” King said of lifetime term limits. She added that if she serves two terms, then decides more than a decade later that she wants to return, residents should have the option to elect her.

“It’s up to the residents to decide whether they want me back or not,” King said.

As an example, King referred to the election of Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon, who was among the small smattering of people still seated in the chambers during the late afternoon discussion.

In 2024, Hardemon ran against his predecessor, former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, who was vying to win her old seat back after being termed out in 2020. Hardemon won with over 60% of the vote.

“She was termed out. He ran,” King said. “She decided that she wanted to come back, and the constituents of that district said, ‘No, we like the work that he’s doing.’”

King said she would consider a proposal to require Miami officials to sit out two terms before running again, saying eight years is “a lifetime in politics.”

Pardo responded that incumbents running for office have a “huge power” and that ultimately his proposal should be decided on by voters. He said the legislation is similar to what Miami Beach voters passed in 2014, limiting commissioners to two full terms in office. Years later, that rule is what blocked former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora from seeking a third full term.

The change takes aim at the political establishment in a city where some veteran elected officials are considering running in the upcoming election, including Commissioner Joe Carollo, who is also the city’s former mayor.

Carollo is opposed to the measure, which he said is an attempt by Pardo — his political adversary — to impede on Carollo’s potential mayoral campaign.

Pardo denied that his proposal was related to Carollo’s potential candidacy.

“The world does not revolve around that whole, you know, thing,” Pardo said. “This is a good governance issue that makes total sense.”

Under the current language of Pardo’s proposal, Carollo might not be eligible to run for elected office in Miami again. He was first elected to the Miami City Commission in 1979, serving until 1987. Carollo was reelected to the City Commission in 1995 before going on to serve two terms as mayor, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2001. He was reelected to the City Commission in 2017 and is currently serving out the second term of his latest stint.

For months, political insiders have speculated about Carollo running for mayor. He has left the door open to the possibility, while cryptically saying that he ultimately wants to go to “Shangri La,” a seeming reference to his retirement plans.

Carollo now says that Shangri La “might be on hold,” telling the Miami Herald on Thursday that: “If God has other plans for me, I’m not going to be fighting against it.”

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