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-4- <br /> { <br /> • roles between the legislative and administrative branches of our <br /> County government. With 9 individual districts . having 2-year terms, <br /> there is no single member of the County Council that can stand up <br /> - to the Mayor within the first two years of the Mayor's term. While <br /> the Council is faced with a mid-term election, the Mayor need not <br /> C run for re-election at this time and his ability to withhold spending, <br /> to transfer funds, or direct moneys into various districts will have <br /> an important effect on the actions of the County Council . This power <br /> will nullify the Council ' s role as an equal partner, serving as a check <br /> on the Mayor in the governance of this County . A similar situation <br /> was faced by the Constitutional Convention in its, last sitting in <br /> 1978. As a result, terms of the Senators were staggered so as to <br /> remove the inequity of power between the respective houses . The <br /> convention found that under the system where all Senators were elected <br /> to 4-year terms, with terms all ending at the same time, the Senate <br /> • <br /> could wield an inordinate amount of power in dealing with members <br /> of the House who must run every two years and were under greater <br /> election pressures in theihterim. Because they did not- have to run <br />