Oct 7, 2008 6:42 am US/Eastern
Third Term Bid Stirs Lively Debate In City Hall
Bills For And Against Bloomberg's Bid To Change Term Limits Law To Be Introduced To Council Tuesday
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
A lively debate is stirring in City Hall about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's campaign to change term limits, which would let him run for a third term without putting the issue before voters.
A proposal to change the term limits law and allow three consecutive four-year terms was set to be introduced in the council on Tuesday, along with a competing bill aimed at thwarting Bloomberg's effort. That measure would require a voter referendum on any term limit change.
Voters have twice endorsed the current two-term limit for city elected officials. Bloomberg's second term is up next year.
The council will not vote on the issue Tuesday. The earliest the full 51-member body could consider the bills is Oct. 23, because each proposal would have to go through hearings and a committee first.
But all sides were already jockeying for support at City Hall on Monday at a closed-door meeting of the council's Democratic majority. Afterward, members described the discussion as charged and heated.
"There's no consensus," said Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. "There's an intense debate going on."
"My ancestors died for the right to vote," Councilwoman Letisha James, D-Brooklyn, said. "There's blood on the streets of people who died for the right to vote and the mayor of the city of New York is ignoring all of that."
In addition to the two measures expected to be introduced Tuesday, two more lawmakers who also oppose the mayor's proposed path to changing the law have floated another bill that would establish a commission to consider the issue, and then put proposed modifications on the ballot in a special election next year.
As Bloomberg neared his final year in office, he struggled with what he wanted to do next. After deciding earlier this year that an independent White House bid was too much of a long shot, Bloomberg recently reversed his long-standing position on the city's term limits law and said last week he would seek to change it and run again.
The former CEO cited the Wall Street meltdown as the reason he believes he should stay on and guide the city through the storm, even though he began privately considering a third term months before the economy took a dive.
Opponents of Bloomberg's plan do not necessarily oppose changing the term limits law. Some support the concept but say it should be up to the voters.
"I've opposed term limits since before I was a council member, when I was standing for election," said Councilman Lewis Fidler, D-Brooklyn. "It's bad government. It's about giving voters the right to choose who they want to serve in various positions in government."
Bloomberg has an advantage as the council begins negotiations on the issue. Two-thirds of its members will be forced out of office next year under the current term limits law, and a majority has expressed support in recent weeks for changing it through the council.
Speaker Christine Quinn, who was widely expected to run for mayor next year, has not publicly said how she would vote on any of the proposed term limits legislation, although last December she said she opposed extending term limits.
There are also questions about the support Bloomberg is trying to line up outside City Hall.
Billionaire cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, who largely financed the referendum that created the term limits law in 1993, said last week he supported giving Bloomberg a chance to run again. Obtaining Lauder's support was widely seen as a major step toward victory for Bloomberg, because Lauder has the resources and clout to mount a public campaign against altering the law.
It now appears Lauder's backing is not necessarily a sure thing. He had told the mayor he would only support a temporary change to the law, essentially giving only Bloomberg and officials currently in office the chance to run for a third term.
"Eight years is far too short to gain the experience, the highest level of experience, to be an effective city office holder," added Councilman Oliver Koppell, D-Bronx.
The city law department said last week that the change had to be permanent because the administration believes a temporary law would be vulnerable to legal challenges. Lauder was said to be caught by surprise.
According to aides for both, Lauder and Bloomberg spoke Friday, and the mayor proposed a deal -- that Lauder support his attempt to change the law permanently in exchange for a post on a commission that would study the issue and put it to voters in 2010.
Lauder is still deciding what to do, his spokesman Howard Rubenstein said Monday.
Later, Lauder issued a short statement that said, "The term limits debate is growing more difficult and divisive by the day." He said he had nothing more to add until he can speak with the mayor in person when Bloomberg returns from his overseas trip later this week.
Speaking to reporters while traveling in London Monday, Bloomberg said he did not necessarily disagree with the notion that voters should determine any term limit changes, but he said going through the council is necessary to get it done quickly.
"I think you can make a good case that he (Lauder) is right, this should be decided by the public, although at the moment, we just don't have the luxury," he said. "This financial crisis is here, and there's no ways to have a special election that would not be tied up in court for a long time."
After approving the two-term limit in 1993, voters three years later defeated a proposal to extend it to three terms. Bloomberg vetoed a 2002 City Council bill that sought to extend terms for some lawmakers.
CBS 2's Magee Hickey also contributed to this report.
(© 2008 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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