So: term limits! Say, 12 years. If there are 3 Elders,
replace one every 12/3 = 4 years. At the start we can use
the `secrets` module to pick which Elders get the first 4,
8, and 12-year terms ;-)
Fresh blood is a good thing in all areas.
Can I get you to clarify what you mean by "term limits"? Do you
solely mean "Elders would not be appointed for life, but rather
would need to be re-elected every N years"? Or do you additionally
mean "No Elder can serve more than N terms in their lifetime?" As
an admittedly-feeble attempt at disambiguation, I'd call the former
"limited terms" and the latter "term limits". (I would welcome
better terms ;-)
I'm most familiar with the term "term limits" from American
politics, where it definitely means the latter: a person can only
serve N times, and are simply ineligible to serve in that same role
an N+1th time. As an example, after FDR was elected President four
times (!), the American Congress passed the 22nd Amendment which
limits any particular person to no more than two terms as President.
Using my terminology above, at the moment I'm open-minded about
whether or not the Council members should have "limited terms". But
I'm less upbeat about "term limits". Personally I've always found
this concept of "term limits" a bit silly--the electorate could
simply decline to re-elect the incumbent. The fact that Americans
re-elect the incumbent so frequently, and also vote for term
limits, seems to distill down to the attitude "Throw the bums
out!... except for my guy, he's good."