An experiment is useful only if it holds the possibility of failure. One of Maine’s experiments of the past five years has been term limits, which, while not a failure, has forced too many good men and women out of office. The time has come to recognize the advantages and disadvantages of term limits and refine the experiment to improve the result.

A starting place can be a bill introduced by Sanford Rep. John L. Tuttle and 10 cosponsors. It would extend from 8 to 12 years the maximum terms for legislators, the secretary of state, the state treasurer and the attorney general, if approved in a statewide election next year.

The present wave of term limits started in 1990 in California. It spread to 20 or so other states, with hefty support by a national lobby, U.S. Term Limits, with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Advocates in Maine got a $300,000 contribution from the philanthropist Elizabeth Noyce.

Owen Wells, president and chief executive officer of the Libra Foundation, established by Mrs. Noyce, says he persuaded her to back term limits. Sen. John Martin, Democrat of Eagle Lake, who as powerful speaker of the House was a target of the term-limits drive, says she told him a year before her death that she had made a mistake in supporting the movement. He adds that she contributed to his election campaigns. Mr. Wells says he knew Mrs. Noyce better than anyone else and knows for a fact that she supported term limits to the end.

The 1993 initiative won with about 70 percent of the votes cast. Efforts to modify or repeal the law have failed, including a bill that fizzled out two years ago without even coming to a vote in the Senate. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 1996 found the state term limits to be constitutional, even though the U.S. Supreme Court had overturned a Missouri law setting term limits for members of Congress.

As the latest effort to curb term limits makes its way through the Legislature, all the old arguments will be heard. The pros will attack “career politicians” and say the best way to throw the rascals out is routine expulsion after eight years in office. The antis will quote James Madison and Alexander Hamilton as holding that frequent elections are the best way to keep the good officials and get rid of the bad ones.

The two-term limit for presidents will be cited. It started with a constitutional amendment when Franklin D. Roosevelt was in his third term. Without the restriction, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton might well have been elected for third terms.

Some may think that George Washington tried to set a precedent by stepping down after two terms. He did not. In his lengthy farewell address, he said not one word about setting a precedent. He explained that he wanted to retire and was doing so only because he felt the nation was on a steady course and could do without his further leadership.

The present bill to amend Maine’s term limits by lengthening tenure is not the end of the debate. One possibility being considered is to offer the voters three alternatives – extending the limits, keeping them the same or abolishing them altogether. The trouble with that idea is that a three-choice ballot measure would divide the opposition to term limits and could let the advocates win with a plurality. A cleaner and better proposal would be a straight up-or-down vote on whether to extend them.

Another problem with the present bill is the timing of a referendum. The 1993 vote was in an off year, and the turnout was only about 25 percent of eligible voters. That means term limits won a heavy majority of a tiny vote. A new vote on term limits should be set for 2002, in the general election, when a turnout of 50 or 60 percent could be expected. Then all Maine voters would have a say, instead of a minority driven to the polls by another expensive advertising campaign.

Term limits have raised problems particularly in the area of legislative leadership even as they have helped bring more citizens into the political process. Mainers deserve a fair chance, however, to consider whether they would be improved by raising the number of years politicians could serve.