Term limits for Union County commissioners declared unconstitutional by circuit court
By Garrett Christensen on Tuesday, September 16th, 2025 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION COUNTY – On August 25, 2025, Judge Thomas B. Powers of the Union County Circuit Court officially ruled that term limits for Union County Commissioners are unconstitutional. The commissioners themselves were informed of the decision during a regular meeting on September 3.
With this ruling, the two-term (eight-year) limit for Union County commissioners has officially been rescinded, allowing commissioners to file for a third candidacy (and potentially beyond) if they so choose.
Discussion on the legality of local term limits was initiated by commissioners in January 2025 with a request for clarification of Ordinance 2017-01, In the Matter of An Ordinance Establishing Term Limits for the Office of Union County Commissioner, and a request for further examination of the ordinance’s legality. This prior ordinance, which was approved by the Union County Board of Commissioners on February 15 of 2017, formally established the two-term limit. The board of commissioners at the time comprised Commissioner Steve McClure, Commissioner Jack Howard, and Commissioner Donna Beverage.
Union County now joins Douglas County in officially declaring term limits for county commissioners unconstitutional. In 2016, the Douglas County Circuit Court made a similar decision to rescind term limits due to the practice being ruled unconstitutional. This case would ultimately reach the Oregon court of appeals, which upheld the Douglas County Circuit Court’s decision in a 2018 ruling.
