Mayor Richard M. Daley decried the idea of term limits Wednesday evening during his appearance at the city’s Mexican Independence Day celebration at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Daley, who announced Tuesday he wouldn’t seek a seventh term, said being able to seek re-election year after year allowed him to get more done during his time as mayor. “Look at the changes we’ve made compared to other cities. Go to Detroit. Go to St. Louis. All of these cities have term limits.â€
When an office has a term limit, Daley said, other elected officials will not work with a mayor in his final term.
“You get in the office and the next four years everybody knows you’re out and they don’t even listen to you. That’s what happens in Washington,” Daley said. “That’s beauracracy. You don’t want bureaucracy to run it, you want the person who’s re-elected. If you stand for election the people make the decision. When we have term limits it is for beauracracy, for red tape and higher cost of government.â€
Daley spoke about gun control, drug use and education during his speech–all topics he has made fixtures in his administration. Even though he’s not running for re-election, Daley worked the event like any other stop on the campaign trail, posing for pictures, and even wearing a sombrero from one of the mariachi players who serenaded him during his entrance.