Hey, we’ve got exciting news coming out of Texas today. We want to welcome Brandon Herrera as our new Texas State Chair. He’s an entrepreneur, social media personality, and he was a Republican candidate for Congress in House District 23. We’re so glad to have him on our team. Hi, I’m Holly Robichaud and this is Breaking News on Term Limits.
Gallup released their annual confidence in institution poll. Only 9% of those polled had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress. And is there any reason to question why Americans feel this way? Well, let’s look at Gold Bar Bob Menendez. He was found guilty of 16 counts of corruption that stemmed from an international bribery scheme, which included acting as a foreign agent while chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At the end of his 27 continuous years in office, Menendez’s legacy is tarnished by the consequences of his greed and disregard for the well-being of his constituents. Despite being convicted of several crimes, Menendez will not resign until August 20th. One of the driving reasons why so many Americans support term limits is that it will weaken the power of lobbyists.
Did you know that from 2015-2023, $32 billion was spent solely on federal lobbying, with $4.26 billion of that being spent just last year? The kicker is that congressional members often join lobbying groups after they serve their term in office. In exchange for their votes, they get millions of dollars. According to Lee Fang, an investigative reporter, former Representative Jim Nussle was hired to lead the Credit Union National Association, a lobby group for credit unions. He currently now has a salary of over $2.6 million. That same reporter noted that former Senator Ken Salazar has a salary of almost $3.5 million after becoming a partner with the law firm WilmerHale. He also works for gas and oil industry, as well as advising Facebook and water asset management.
Well, now I’ve got some good news. Legislative candidates across the nation are getting the message that voters want congressional term limits. An additional 63 2024 legislative candidates signed our US Term Limits Pledge in the past two weeks. In November, it looks like we’re going to have a record number of state legislators in office who have signed our pledge. Hey, did you see the poll coming out of California? The Los Angeles Times reported that a poll from UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies of California residents showed that 77% of them want term limits on their county supervisors, 77% of them want term limits on their district attorneys, and 73% said they want term limits on their sheriffs. The preferred limit among respondents were two four-year terms. Even in California, term limits is popular.
Here’s another surprise for you. In New York, Legislator John Bargnesi has introduced a bill that would establish term limits in Erie County. Spectrum News reports that if signed into law, Erie County legislators, along with the county executive, comptroller, sheriff, clerk, and district attorney would be allowed to serve three four-year terms in office. We have some interesting news coming out of Denver. A poll from Magellan Strategies shows that 74% of voters favor proposition of shortening the term for the city mayor and city council from three to two four-year terms.
Hey, I’ve got more good news today. Over the past three weeks, six congressional candidates have signed our US term limits pledge. We are on the cusp of having a record-breaking cycle this year.
And now it’s time for the Corrupt Politician of the Week. This week, it’s former United States Representative Duncan Hunter, who served from 2013-2020. The United States Attorney’s Office reports that he and his wife stole hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain a lavish lifestyle. From 2010-2016, they illegally converted more than $150,000 in campaign funds for their personal use, including luxury hotels, overseas vacations, and plane tickets for, get this, their pet rabbits. The US Attorney’s Office also noted that during the course of the conspiracy, they had overdrawn their bank account over 1100 times.
Congressional term limits can happen. 2024 is shaping up to be a banner year for us. We’ve got the momentum. We’ve got the support. But we can’t do it alone. We need your help. Please go to termlimits.org and get involved today. And be sure to share this program with your family and friends. This is Holly Robichaud for US Term Limits Breaking News. I’ll see you soon.