As expected, a debate around imposing term limits and recalls for Calgary councillors was lively, but ultimately the motion by two incumbents was defeated.

Councillors Joe Magliocca and Sean Chu’s motion would’ve limited councillors to serving 12 years or three terms maximum in municipal office, but the vote was 9-6 against.

Council then voted against the possibility of recalls and Chu said afterward he was disappointed and that it’s clear there won’t be limits anytime soon.

“My feeling from talking to the others, no,” he said, adding at least it started a conversation.

Along with the motion’s authors, Ward Sutherland, Jeff Davison, George Chahal and Jeromy Farkas voted for it.

Farkas caught the attention of fellow rookie councillor Jyoti Gondek when he mentioned council can be susceptible to group-think and falling into cozy positions.

“I don’t believe that it’s particularly cozy or comfortable when there’s members of this council that have physical issues, they’re dealing with emotional issues, they’re dealing with illness in the family and they’re here,” she said. “If you feel it is cozy and comfortable, I would recommend that perhaps you put a little more effort into it or you go and get a little bit more experience.

“Please do not on my behalf ever comment that this job is cozy or comfortable or that I practice group-think.”

The comments prompted Diane Colley-Urquhart to suggest Farkas apologize.

“I don’t think that there’s anything to apologize for,” he said. “I emphasized in my remarks that it wasn’t personal, it’s just human nature, once you’re in a job for decades at a time, I think the temptation is there to take things for granted.

“I feel it too, I haven’t been here even a hundred days, but I can feel the place softening me up, I can feel the appeal to spend most of my time here, rather than out in the community.”

As for Magliocca, he got into his own exchange with Mayor Naheed Nenshi, when he suggested this was an issue he campaigned on.

“You campaigned on term limits,” Magliocca said.

“No, I didn’t,” Nenshi responded. “I can’t raise on my own question of privilege, but I will anyway, no I didn’t, anyway go on.”

“No worries,” Magliocca answered. “I think 12 years is efficient to do whatever you have to do in your communities or in the city of Calgary.”

As he has before, Nenshi said if we want to improve democracy, we should focus on money.

“This council has consistently voted, including the people who moved this motion, against campaign finance reform, against even talking about campaign finance reform,” he said. “One of the members around this horseshoe who is in favour of this item is having a $200-a-plate fundraiser in the first possible moment you can do it.

“No challenger can do that.”