Voters love term limits. That’s what the politicians, lobbyists and special interests in San Antonio, Texas, found out the hard way. Voters went to the polls on May 15th and smashed their attempt to weaken the city’s term limits law. The vote was overwhelming two to one just like the original vote for term limits 13 years ago, back in 1991.

And there’s more: term limits supporters were outspent, not 10 to 1, not 20 to 1, not 50 to 1 but 100 to 1. The mayor, city council members, unions bosses, big businesses and every political hack and special interest imaginable spent big bucks plastering the city with mail and billboards and radio and TV ads. They asked voters to extend their term limits from two 2-year terms to three 3-year terms and remove the lifetime limit.

Then, on a shoestring, the Homeowner-Taxpayer Association, led by president Bob Martin, using free publicity and holding street rallies with volunteers at busy intersections throughout the city, crushed the well-financed effort by the city’s political establishment. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Bob Martin. “They bombarded us with ads on TV and radio.” Still, citizens rocked the city council with such a lopsided vote.

As Martin pointed out, though, “A lot of these folks voted for term limits and they recall the days when we had career politicians running the city.” This huge victory sends a powerful message to politicians and special interests nationwide: hands off our term limit laws! Now listen, you politicians, ’cause . . .

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.