N.Y. City Council extends term limits for mayor, other officials

[sinkingfeeling]

Source: CNN.com

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The New York City Council on Thursday voted in favor of a bill that would extend term limits, allowing Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for a third term.

The vote was 29 in favor and 22 against.

Earlier, the council defeated an amendment to the bill that would have called for a public referendum on the issue of term limits.

On Wednesday, council members Bill de Blasio and Letitia James filed suit in a state court. They sought to block the council's vote, arguing that it would be a conflict of interest for council members to vote on the bill.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/23/bloomberg.third.term/index.html

---

I thought term limits were one of the things 'conservatives' longed for.

[villager]

1. Fucking Republicans hate laws... Aren't they actually anarchists?

Though really, this gives actual anarchists a bad name...

[WriteDown]

3. Uh.....

The city council is almost uniformly democrats. I suspect that polls forced them to do this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Council

[villager]

4. But the Republican forced it -- and nothing, actually, "forced" them..

n/t

[WriteDown]

6. I'll give you a minute to think about that sentence. nt

[villager]

7. Sure -- Bloomberg brought it up, and, Pelosi-like, the Dems yielded

You can have two minutes to think about that!

[gauguin57]

23. And Bloomberg is a Democrat who only switched to R to run in 2001. He's registered indepedent now.

Bloomberg is a rich dude, but he's DEFINITELY not a Republican -- in registration or in his soul. Sorry, but rich Republicans don't take the subway. Only progressives are cool enough to do that!!

[Smarmie Doofus]

26. He just gave 500,000 to state GOP to keep control of Senate.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=169x8029


>>>Bloomberg is a rich dude, but he's DEFINITELY not a Republican -- in registration or in his soul. Sorry, but rich Republicans don't take the subway. Only progressives are cool enough to do that!!>>>>

This mythology is getting old.

[villager]

34. So he likes political expedience -- I guess that's underscored by him wanting to change the rules?

...so he can run for a third term?

[Smarmie Doofus]

27. I suspect perceived self-interest enticed them to do this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/nyregion/17nyc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[TomClash]

40. You're right

Buamendmets to the Charter should be done by referendum.

[Renew Deal]

50. Actually, their own lust for power forced them to do it.

Everyone got extended. How convenient.

[Muttocracy]

2. hmm, both the mayor and the Council speaker

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/council-to-debate-term-limits-change/?hp

[HeraldSquare212]

5. They can all say bye-bye. People are very much against it.

[Dover]

8. WHAAA..? Does NY think they're Russia and Bloomberg is Putin?

Are we just going to start changing major election laws to suit whoever has the majority of power?

I don't care WHO this is supposed to benefit, this is DEAD WRONG!

[Phred42]

9. STUPID - STUPID - STUPID:

[iandhr]

10. As a New Yorker

There are 47 Democrats and 3 GOP on the New York City Council. Also I think it extends term limits for the council members so they had something to gain. Also Bloomberg is not a member of the GOP anymore. I hate to admit it is not always the Rethungs falt.

[TomClash]

38. It's Bloomberg and Quinn

It's not the will of the people.

[Dorian Gray]

43. Most of the New Yorkers

I know have no problem with this, actually.

[TomClash]

46. Most that I know have a big problem with it nt

[Dorian Gray]

48. I do wish

that it was opened up to a public referendum that those who live in the city could vote on. That way, whichever side won, it would be the will of the people and not of the city council.

[TomClash]

49. That's all I'm asking for

And that's all the opponents are asking for. If it passes fine. I don't care for term limits anyway.

But this stinks of corruption.

[Dorian Gray]

58. I do agree with you

I don't have a problem with the idea of extending term limits, but I do agree that it should be voted on by the people, not the city council. So, we agree.

And I'd be quite happy if the NY population voted against it. At least then I'd know it was the will of our population.

[Smarmie Doofus]

57. Perhaps they're not very bright.

Seriously, if they can be sold term limits by one billionaire ( Lauder) and sold NO term limits by another billionaire (Bloomberg) in the space of ten years.... perhaps they lack the cognitive acuity required for self government.

[Dorian Gray]

42. Agree

The Democrats on the City Council voted for this, and term limits were instituted only in the 1980s. It's not like it was a historical practice.

Koch, himself, served three terms.

[billyoc]

11. Primary time for all Dem incumbents.

This fucking city sucks.

[iandhr]

13. hey

New York is the best city on earth. Its the capital of the world.

Are you from the real part of America

[billyoc]

16. Yeah. Hells Kitchen.

[Lethe]

12. it's because the term limits are removed for council members as well

2/3 of them were on the way out, the article says.

[KamaAina]

14. Tiny Fascist

that's what a (fairly conservative!) friend of mom's calls Mayor-for-Life Bloomberg. The "tiny" part is a reference to his 5'7" stature. As for the rest, you figure it out. :eyes:

[New Dawn]

15. So much for "democracy"

[Thothmes]

17. But it is a good example of representative government.

[TomClash]

39. Except the people don't agree

We want a referendum to amend the City Charter.

[Thothmes]

41. They get a chance to voice their displeasure

at the next election of their city council members.

[TomClash]

45. I think the people have to vote on this change first

It's public policy and it changes the way elected officials are elected. I think that requires a referendum.

[Thothmes]

52. What does New York State Law require. Thats what counts

[dailykoff]

18. NYC Mayor Bloomberg wins fight to extend term limits

Source: Jerusalem Post

Mayor Michael Bloomberg won his quest Thursday to change term-limits law through a fast-tracked City Council vote, a move that clears the way for the billionaire independent to seek a third term and dramatically alters the city's political landscape.

By a 29-22 vote, the council agreed to give officeholders the option of three consecutive four-year terms. Existing law limits them to two terms, and Bloomberg's second concludes at the end of 2009.

The former businessman said he wanted another four years in large part because he believed his financial expertise would be crucial in steering the city through the long-term effects of the economic crisis.

The term-limit change also gives dozens of other elected officials the chance to run for re-election, and it throws into question the political futures of those who were lining up to run for mayor next year. Many would-be mayoral candidates are expected to drop out of the race because of the difficult task of running against a popular incumbent with unlimited cash to spend on a third campaign.

Read more: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017612718&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

---

Un-be-fuckin-lievable. :mad:

[rpannier]

19. Some enterprising souls need to get a ballot initiative together

to limit it to two terms

or if it was passed by initiative

then sue. Arguing that the council overstepped it's authority by circumventing the initiative process.

In the end analysis...the best cure for this is for the voters to pitch out every last one of them as a warning to others who would try this in the future.

[Smarmie Doofus]

28. We've already done this *twice*.

>>>Some enterprising souls need to get a ballot initiative together
to limit it to two terms>>>>>

He... Bloomberg.... and they ( Council and the moneyed power elite that run the city and the Council) couldn't care less.

They make up the rules as they go along.

[livelongandprosper]

20. I don't mind it.

I can't think of anyone who would be better for NYC now than Bloomberg. That doesn't mean he is so damn good it's just that there is no better alternative.

[dailykoff]

21. How about any but?

The guys a stinking filthy rich neocon.

[Smarmie Doofus]

29. Perhaps you are a bit short-sighted. nt

[gauguin57]

22. Which "Republican who forced it" are you all talking about. Bloomberg is an independent, and was Dem

He was a lifelong Democrat -- switched his registration in 2001 to run as a Republican. Now he's an independent.

And no, I don't think they should have changed the term limits. But I really like Michael Bloomberg. I think he'd make a good POTUS someday. Especially because he's really a Democrat. He's a multi-billionaire who does not have to be beholden to ANYONE.

I wish he'd found some other way to do his public service, however, other than changing the term limits. But New Yorkers still have the opportunity to vote him out (though they probably won't ... I think he's pretty popular).

[NYC Liberal]

33. "He's a multi-billionaire who does not have to be beholden to ANYONE"

Yeah ... including the voters!

[Princess Turandot]

36. Amen to that..

he really is no less determined to get his way than Giuliani was: it's just more concealed by virtue of his unemotive personality.

[Princess Turandot]

35. He's single-handedly keeping the NYS Republican Party flush..

money for thankfully soon-to-be-gone piece-of-excrement Joe Bruno? Sorry, that doesn't equal being really a Dem to my way of thinking. Those fucking upstate Republicans led by Bruno have tried on more than one occasion to eliminate the rent stabilization program here, since it does not affect upstate residents to any significant degree. A small matter that would put me and my cats out of our home, along with a lot of others.

[asksam]

47. He switch to Republican to run for mayor in 2001

... sorry, but when you lie down with the pigs, you get filthy. He lost my trust as of that moment. The fact that he didn't switch back to Democrat only shows that he's not repentant.

[KamaAina]

25. Even Giuliani never tried a putsch like this!

:wtf:

[wvbygod]

24. Those 29 should be voted out next time around

Why was this decision not put before the people to vote on? Who are these smug cretins?

[Smarmie Doofus]

30. Because the people might vote "no".

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=169x8381



>>>Why was this decision not put before the people to vote on?>>>>

[TomClash]

37. Spot on

That's what our side says.

[IndianaGreen]

31. Shameful! And they accused Hugo Chavez of trying to amend the Constitution

by putting a referendum to allow him to run for another term. Chavez is more democratic than those idiots in NYC.

[Freddie Stubbs]

32. I doubt that there are many members of the NYC Council who call themeselves 'conservative'

[asksam]

44. The Wrong Way To Do This

I believe term limits are inherently a bad thing. I think that people should be free to vote for anyone whom they want (with obvious exceptions for certain common sense guidelines -- you don't want to elect an infant as president, mayor). Heck, I feel so strongly about that principle that I'd be willing to have the 22nd repealed, even if it meant the possiblity of a third Bush term. If the people keep voting the same idiots into office, then they get the government they deserve.

That being said, however, as a New Yorker, I think that the mayor an city council went about this the wrong way. This matter was voted on in city wide referrenda twice (I voted against it both times). As such, I think that any attempts to repeal it should be done the same way. If the people really want Bloomberg for a third term, then they should be the ones to repeal the term limits, not the City Council in a vote that obviously has severe conflict-of-interest questions.

Incidentally, if we're going to make an exception for Bloomberg because he's what the city needs during this fiscal crisis, then what is the point of term limits at all?

[Renew Deal]

51. I wonder what Chavez apologists have to say about Hugo Bloomberg

Can't wait to hear it.

[Odin2005]

54. Gah, didn't see that you beat me to the same point about Chavez.

:dunce:

[Odin2005]

53. Weren't DUers defending Hugo Chavez when he got rid of term limits?

:eyes:

Professional political class = Bad.

[Smarmie Doofus]

56. You've got it all backwards.

Chavez wanted and got a *referendum* on term limits. Which he LOST.

Bloomberg and the Council just *avoided* a referendum ( which they would also LOSE) and con$pired to extend term limits anyway.

[DuaneBidoux]

55. One can't even count the ways this is wrong. There will be no vote here at all?

How can the council overrule a law that was passed by voters without a revote?

It might be one thing for the council to allow a vote and vote themselves on recommending the people vote yes but this is something else entirely--and I wouldn't care if the mayor were dem, republican, socialist, or anything else for that matter.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

59. i am very conflicted about this.

[BklnDem75]

60. Here's a list:

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/87703/how-they-voted--council-members-tackle-term-limit-bill/Default.aspx

A list of the assholes I will be pushing to vote out of office. Especially the ones that changed their minds and voted for the extension on the last day. Christine Quinn above all else.

[marasinghe]

61. another bunch of wall street welfare queens

Channeling the ghost of mayors past: Ed Koch, another 3 termer, I believe; perhaps, a much smarter -- and granted -- much less fascist, Giuliani.

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/takeaction.html

"... The City of New York has always maintained an intake center for homeless men in Manhattan. The reason for this is simple: Manhattan has the highest concentration of street homelessness of the five boroughs. However, the Bloomberg administration has announced a misguided plan to move the homeless men’s intake center outside of Manhattan to an armory located in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. This dangerous plan will inevitably lead to more street homelessness and may lead to more death and injury among street homeless New Yorkers ..."

Guess that compassionate conservatism doesn't float in Gracie Mansion. They might as well turn this island into a castle now; and shove the serfs onto Rikers, or a barge in the Atlantic.

[bobd0]

62. I've always opposed term limits. They're unnecessary.

We always had term limits. They're called ELECTIONS and during them voters can end the term of any office holder they choose.

[Posteritatis]

63. ding ding ding ding ding! (nt)