Oct 23, 2008 7:41 pm US/Eastern
'Aye' And Mighty: Bloomberg's Wish Is Granted
City Council Passes Vote To Extend Term Limits, Allowing Mayor To Run Again
Council Approves Proposal By Majority Vote, 29-22
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg's bid to run for a third term got the "all-clear" Thursday when the City Council voted to allow term limits to be extended from 8 to 12 years. (File)
AP
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's bid to run for a third term got the all-clear Thursday when the City Council voted to allow term limits to be extended from 8 to 12 years.
Emotional and often outspoken council members voted 29-22 in favor of the extension that now allows officeholders three consecutive four-year terms. About two-thirds of the City Council is currently in their second term.
In a statement released by Bloomberg shortly after the decision was announced, he said he was pleased with the council's vote.
"Today, the majority of the City Council decided to give the people of New York a fuller choice in the November, 2009 election. I believe that was the right choice, and I want to thank Speaker Quinn for her leadership.
"Those of us who work on both sides of City Hall must now move forward with the important decisions that face us, particularly finding ways to soften the fallout from the economic downturn and balancing our budget as revenues decline. We have a lot of work to do together to get New York through these tough times."The council debate began around 2:30 with passionate views on both sides. Council Speaker Christine Quinn got the debate rolling, echoing Bloomberg's argument that the Wall Street meltdown needed experienced hands like himself and the other elected officials.
"In challenging times like this, the voters should have the choice of keeping the current leadership, the current mayor, the current City Council," she said.
But opponents argued the decision should be up to the people, not the officials who would also be affected by a term limit extension.
"If you do this, you are undermining the very people who voted for you," Councilman Charles Barron argued. "Even though the mayor will win today, he is the big loser, because he lost democracy, he lost the favor of the people."
Others argued that those who voted in favor did so to enable themselves the ability to stay on the council again too.
"This had nothing to do with Bloomberg, this had nothing to do with individual council members, this had to do with what's good for the city," former Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. told CBS 2.
Councilman Miguel Martinez said he voted in favor of the bill for that very reason.
"Today I disagree with the argument that we're hijacking or that we're taking away democracy. If my constituents are not satisfied with the work I've done in the City Council, they will vote me out, because they're smart enough to do that," he said. "I'm voting for the bill, and the mayor has not given me a dime. I'm voting because it's my responsibility."
Bloomberg had announced earlier this month his desire to run again, citing the current state of the economy as one of the main reasons why.
"The question for me has become much less about the theoretical and much more about the practical. And so to put it in very practical terms, handling this financial crisis while strengthening the central services such as education and public safety is a challenge I want to take on for the people of New York," he said on Oct. 2.
Bloomberg was elected two months after Sept. 11 and then cruised to a landslide in 2005 after spending tens of millions of his own fortune.
Late Wednesday, a diverse group of politicians and activists rallied on City Hall's steps, chanting, "Let the people decide!"
They claimed they counted 23 votes opposed to Bloomberg's bill that would allow him and two-thirds of the City Council to run for third terms next year. That meant three more votes would kill the idea and at least three Council members were said to be introducing a separate measure to put the matter to a public referendum in the spring rather than change the law in the Council.
But a last-minute vote for a referendum was rejected by the council on Thursday.
The debate over the mayor's proposal was complicated by Bloomberg's current popularity and the fact that term limits were enacted through public referendums in 1993 and 1996. So, while some consider it an argument against Bloomberg's performance in office, others considered the very idea of term limits to be primary issue.
Opponents, though, were hopeful that if they couldn't stop the Council from voting on the term limit change, a court would rule against the move. Brooklyn Councilwoman Letitia James was among several in the Council who asked a state court judge to block the Council's schedule vote on Thursday. The judge declined, but suggested the complainants might challenge the vote in court after it took place.
"We are extremely outraged," she said. "This is about democracy; this is about a fundamental right. This is bigger than one person, or one (political) body."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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