Baltimore City Councilman Ryan Dorsey is taking another swing at undoing the voter-approved term limits that residents backed in 2022, launching a fresh effort this week to repeal the charter’s two-term, eight-year cap on top city officials. If the council advances his proposal, the same question that cruised to victory two years ago could land back on the ballot.
Dorsey says the vote lacked debate
At a recent city council meeting, Dorsey again blasted the way the term limits question landed in front of voters, telling Fox Baltimore, “There was no public discourse before it showed up on the ballot.” He argues that reopening the charter would give residents a true chance to reconsider the change, instead of letting a one-shot vote stand without more public back-and-forth.
How the 2022 referendum performed
Question K, the 2022 charter amendment that imposed term limits, passed in a landslide with about 72% of the vote, or roughly 98,529 ballots in favor, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. The change bars the mayor, comptroller, council president, and council members from serving more than eight years in any 12 years, and it takes effect for officials elected in 2024.
Bill on the council record
The repeal proposal appears in the council’s online records as resolution file 22-0326. According to Baltimore City Legistar, Dorsey first introduced it in December 2022, with three colleagues joining him as sponsors. The measure is described as a charter amendment that would strike the sections setting the two-term, eight-year limit and, if the council signs off, send that reversal question back to voters.
What opponents say
Critics argue that yanking back a measure that cleared the ballot by such a wide margin would shrug off what voters already decided. “Its a slap in the face for them to say voters don’t know better,” Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer said, while political analyst John Dedie warned that residents could push back if officials move to unwind the 2022 result, as reported by Fox Baltimore.
The pension fight behind the push
Dorsey’s repeal campaign is unfolding alongside a broader tug of war over City Hall pensions and benefits. The council has moved to change when elected officials qualify for pensions, and the mayor has vetoed related measures, turning compensation into a live political fault line. That pensions dispute, and the larger question of how much elected leaders are paid and protected, now forms the backdrop for the renewed term limits push, according to reporting by WMAR2 News.
Next steps
The repeal proposal must clear a council committee and then win a full council vote before it can appear on a future ballot. Dorsey’s first attempt to move it forward never got out of committee, according to Baltimore City Legistar. Supporters frame the renewed effort as giving voters another shot at a high-stakes decision. Opponents see it as a play to overturn a clear referendum result, setting the stage for a bruising council fight in the weeks ahead.
