Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has vetoed the City Council’s efforts to put term limits on his appointees.
The measure passed in council with a five to three vote last week with Councilman Russ Jehl (2nd, R) being absent.
In a statement, Henry said, “I must veto this ordinance as it limits me from discharging the executive functions I was elected to perform.”
This is Henry’s ninth veto of his tenure as mayor, with his most recent coming in 2020 when he vetoed a measure impacting the structure of the Legacy Joint Funding committee. That veto was sustained, but overall, six of Henry’s eight past vetoes have been overruled.
Overruling a mayoral veto requires a two-thirds vote from the City Council.
The Council has already set term limits to its own appointees. In the full body of nine, six would need to vote in favor of overruling.
The mayoral term-limit measure got five votes last week in Jehl’s absence.
In a statement, Jehl said “I would have preferred my colleagues not go down the road of limiting city board volunteer’ experiences, but we have done so, and for the boards’ balance to be maintained the rules need to be the same for the Mayor’s appointments and the Council appointments.”
The City Council is expected to vote on overturning Henry’s veto at its next meeting a week from Tuesday.