Well, City Councilor John Tobin has a solution for low voter turnout, and it's not a MoFee Style Public Kvetch-Fest. If Mayor Tom Menino thought he didn't like the idea of Kvetch-Fest 2008, he must have blown his stack when he heard what Councilor Tobin proposed.

Tobin wants to limit mayoral and city council terms to 12 years. Menino, who is an institution along the lines of the Old South Meeting House, has already served for 15 years. Tobin thinks a fresh face will cause a sensation and make voters think that mayors aren't inevitable.

Oh, and it's worth noting that Tobin himself might like to be mayor someday. It's also worth noting that Tobin is clearly a Colbert fan, as he said to the Herald that term limits would "put everybody on notice." Wonder if he keeps an "on notice" board somewhere in his office?

Image of Tobin from his City Councilor page.