A few months ago, the Covington City Council voted unanimously to submit a resolution to the state delegation to change the city’s charter. That change would impose term limits on city council members moving forward. 

With a unanimous vote, the council presented a united front when presenting this to the state, something that might not be strictly required but is highly encouraged. Without unanimity, it appears the council disagrees on the change and that is typically something the state legislators would not want to stick their noses in.

After the unanimous vote, the plan was put into action and the proper procedures were followed to get the amendment to the Capitol. 

That’s when everything changed. 

Apparently, the unanimous decision was not enough to convince some of the city’s state representatives and questions and other options were presented.

Monday evening, the Covington City Council was left to vote once again. This time, they were voting on a resolution that would put a referendum on the ballot to let the citizens decide.

Do you think the Covington City Council should be limited to four terms in office? Check yes or no. 

Out the door went the unanimous decision and in came disagreement and confusion. The council’s youngest member no longer agreed with the term limits of elected members and voted in opposition of the referendum. 

Now, with two things working against them – the non-unanimous vote and the state legislator’s questions – it looks like council members would the opportunity to dig their heels in and get comfortable in their seats around the horseshoe of city government. 

This newspaper is not going to take a stand on term limits, however, it will take a stand on following through on your word. 

What good is an elected official if they’re not going to do what they say they’re going to do? It has long been the opinion of this paper that once a majority vote is cast it should be held as gold. A unanimous decision should not even be questioned. 

The recent flip-flop from Councilman Anthony Henderson leaves a lot of questions when it comes to how he will stand behind his votes in the future. Votes should not be taken lightly by our elected officials and we hope this councilman will work to better stand behind what he votes for in the future.

Our Thoughts is the opinion of The Covington News’ editorial board. For more information, please email news@covnews.com.