ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.

I hear tell from reliable sources that Dorr Township Trustee John Tuinstra is seriously considering a third four-year term on the Township Board in next year’s election. If he is, I pronounce him the King of Hypocrites in the local political arena.

For those who haven’t been paying attention or simply just don’t know, Tuinstra consistently has opposed appointing prospective public servants because of his firm, bedrock belief in term limits. He has stated that public officials should step aside after a certain number of years to give other people a chance to serve.

Tuinstra voted against the reappointments of Chairman Robert Wagner, Vice Chairman Robert Traxler and Commissioner Larry Dolegowski very simply because he believes they have been on the Planning Commission for too long or long enough.

Traxler, in his Army Bob column on Townbroadcast, rejected that argument by writing, “A planning commissioner must look to the long-term good of the township or city; playing musical chairs with the members, changing them every six or nine years, will lose continuity and be disastrous for long-term planning vital to controlled growth.”

Tuinstra also voted against the reappointment of Ethel Visser to the Zoning Board of Appeals several years ago because of the 42-year length of her service.

Tuinstra’s penchant for rejecting veterans on boards and commissions, along with the absence of Trustee Josh Otto, led to the need to have two special meetings to decide on the reappointments of Wagner and Dolegowski. The Township Board, in both instances, was deadlocked 3-3, with Tuinstra, Trustee Terri Rios and Clerk Debbie Sewers voting against them and Supervisor Jeff Miling, Trustee Dan Weber and Treasurer Jim Martin voting in favor.

Otto returned for the special meetings and cast the deciding vote twice to keep the long-serving people in place.

No one should be critical of the right of anyone in the public arena standing up for what he or she believes in. But Tuinstra now faces a dilemma in seeking a third four-year term. He will become one of the members of a group he has opposed.

Michigan’s term limits law, foolishly adopted 25 years ago, limits a state legislator to three two-year terms and the governor, secretary of state, attorney general and all state senators to two four-year terms. If Tuinstra is re-elected next year, his term will eclipse the length of those prescribed by Michigan law, even though it doesn’t apply township officials.

This is a matter of integrity, and the potential for hypocrisy. Tuinstra will be telling the world he is exempt from the very rules he insists on when making appointments.