Three city council contenders are promising to sit no more than two terms if elected, opening debate again over whether councillors should have a limit to how many years they can serve.

“Politics are more of a calling than a profession,” Mark Taylor said Monday as he joined fellow council hopefuls Stephen Blais and Allan Hubley in promising to serve a maximum of two terms if they win seats in Bay, Cumberland and Kanata South wards respectively.

“A fresh perspective is always good, new blood is always good,” Blais said.

Hubley added that he believes councillors should be able to get their work done in eight years.

In the 2006 election, every incumbent councillor seeking re-election either won the race or was acclaimed. Current councillors Steve Desroches and Bob Monette have supported the idea of term limits.

Blais said there are feuds that develop between councillors who have spent several terms at City Hall. He’s calling for all election candidates to consider making the same two-term promise during their campaigns.

With Bay Coun. Alex Cullen running for mayor, the ward race is wide open for Taylor and two others who have filed their election papers. Blais and Hubley are the only candidates who have registered so far in their wards.

Caroline Andrew, a professor and municipal politics expert at the University of Ottawa, said one problem with limiting terms will be for councillors who aspire to be mayor. Sometimes it takes longer than eight years to fully understand citywide policies and become familiar with the important players before someone can pursue the city’s top job, Andrew said.

At the same time, maximum term limits would encourage candidates to tackle citywide issues instead of being too focused on items specific to the wards.

“There has been a lot of criticism that people are too ward-centred,” Andrew said.

Term limits would also help new candidates get involved in city politics because there’s a “huge incumbency advantage,” Andrew added.

One candidate registered Monday to run in the fall election. Robin Lawrance filed papers to run in Gloucester-Southgate, a seat currently held by Coun. Diane Deans. A total of 13 people so far have filed papers in the ward and mayoral races.