When the very first generation of U.S. citizens debated ratification of the Constitution state by state, two concerns repeatedly arose: The idea of the federal government telling state officials how to run elections and the length of terms for public officeholders.

The quagmire now consuming city council and school board elections all across Texas illustrates why those concerns are as relevant today as in 1787-88. Except that now state lawmakers are intruding upon local government — and making a stupefying mess of it.

State leaders bent over backward to comply with federal rules making it easier for military personnel and others overseas to vote in federal and state elections. But their constitutionally conflicted legislation has brought financial and logistical headaches to our cities and schools.

Take Election 2012: The primary runoff election for state and federal races has been set for May 22, which by itself is no big deal. But early voting for those elections begins Monday, May 14 — a problem because county election officials would ordinarily also conduct city and school elections on Saturday, May 12, two days earlier.

But more than two days are supposedly needed by at least some county election staffs to reprogram their election machines. And because their chief obligation is to county, state and federal elections in even-numbered years, some county officials are telling cities and schools they must change how they handle spring elections.

Cities and schools have few options. One is to move their elections to November to coincide with our increasingly raucous state and federal races. Waco council members are wise to want to avoid this, if only because state and federal campaigns are so fiercely partisan, so downright nutty anymore, that Mayor Jim Bush and council member Randy Riggs fear it might all bleed into our ordinarily dignified local elections.

They’re right. State and national elections are a joke. Just the other day one presidential candidate promised $2-a-gallon gasoline if elected. And a chicken in every pot.

No wonder city and school leaders tremble at the idea of sharing a ballot with such characters.

A second option allows cities and schools to continue elections in May but with their own election staffs and polling machines, at least in even-numbered years. If our city joined forces with the Waco and Midway school districts and McLennan Community College, it could defray its costs, including the $372,000 for machines and the $85,000 (in the first year) for a city election staff. (And here’s one for you: Legislation for all this claims it will have no fiscal impact! Actually, it could result in tens of millions of dollars in unfunded mandates statewide.)

And then who’s to say that state lawmakers won’t meddle even further, scuttling this investment. Some politicians would love to politicize all elections by forcing city and school elections to move to November, so that candidates would gradually have to declare either Republican or Democrat, just to match the rest of the ballot. That would be great for political parties — and disastrous for serious public policy.

Then there’s the option of restructuring city council terms so they come up for election only in odd-numbered years. If you lengthen city terms from two to four years and stagger them, you keep the entire council from coming up all at once (which someone called a “city manager’s nightmare”). Then again, voters in a city charter election might well resist lengthening terms.

And if you increase the length of city council terms, Article 11, Section 11, of the Texas Constitution would compel candidates to win a majority of votes to claim victory, not a plurality. Under that scenario, Mae Jackson might not have become Waco’s first elected black mayor in 2004.

Few other options exist, though state elections expert and former Waco Mayor Mike Morrison, while trying to lead a confused and frustrated Waco City Council through this abyss recently, did cite an idea that City Manager Larry Groth offered, presumably in jest: “That he just appoint the council.”

None of our city council members seemed hip to that idea.