Lee County voters will decide in November whether to impose term limits on the county’s five elected constitutional officers.
County commissioners unanimously approved placing the charter amendment on the Nov. 3 midterm ballot during a public hearing May 5. The amendment would limit officers to three consecutive four-year terms.
“It will go on the ballot, and the voters will have the ultimate say as to what happens with it,” Commissioner Brian Hamman said.
Four speakers addressed commissioners during the 17-minute hearing, including two in favor, one against and one who recited an artificial intelligence-generated response.
The constitutional officers include the sheriff, clerk of courts, property appraiser, tax collector and supervisor of elections.
The amendment would not affect four of the officers until 2032. Sheriff Carmine Marceno, Tax Collector Noelle Branning, Clerk of Courts & Comptroller Kevin Karnes and Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell could run for third terms in 2028. The supervisor of elections was appointed after Tommy Doyle retired midterm.
Hamman said adding term limits to constitutional officers would align with the term limits already imposed on county commissioners.
Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman speaks during a May 5 meeting in which commissioners voted to place constitutional officer term limits on the November ballot. The proposed charter amendment would limit officers to three consecutive four-year terms.
Lee County government
Voters approved a charter amendment in 2014 limiting county commissioners to three consecutive four-year terms. The amendment passed with 88% of the vote.
Tara Jenner, a Republican state committeewoman, spoke in favor of the amendment.
She said many voters are uninformed, giving incumbents an advantage.
“The number of elected officials who are incumbents that are reelected just because of name recognition or because of the amount of money that they’ve been able to garner and put in their war chest and be able to get out fancy glossy flyers is significant,” she said.
History supports her argument. Ken Wilkinson served as property appraiser for 40 years, from 1980 to 2020. Mike Scott was elected sheriff four times before retiring during his fourth term.
Current constitutional officers have faced little opposition in recent reelection campaigns. Marceno defeated only a write-in candidate, while Branning and Karnes ran unopposed in 2024. Matt Caldwell won his primary with 70% of the vote. Doyle, who retired earlier this year, won a third term in 2024 with 80% of the vote after admitting to an extramarital affair with a subordinate employee.
County resident Marsha Ellis spoke against the amendment, saying term limits would not fix “our ethics, campaign finance or lobbying standards.”
“By ignoring these core issues, you’re perpetuating a cycle where insider influence predominates our representation. Do not give the public a fix that actually diminishes the effectiveness of their government.
“I urge you to reject this diversion and instead focus on meaningful ethics and structural reforms to the Lee County Charter, which it so desperately needs.”