Oct 16, 2008 1:34 pm US/Eastern
City Council Holds First Term Limits Hearing
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
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Michael Bloomberg, New York City Mayor, testifies about gun control before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security, Washington, DC
AP
With two hearings that promise to feature a spirited debate, the public gets its chance to weigh in on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's effort to change term-limits law through the City Council so that he can run for re-election.
The first hearing before a council committee is set to begin Thursday afternoon, and some opponents of Bloomberg's campaign are urging for it to go all night in a show of solidarity. The second will be held Friday.
The billionaire independent mayor's plan to change the law so that officeholders have the option of a third, four-year term has been on a fast track since he announced his intentions just two weeks ago, after long opposing the idea. The 51-member council could vote as early as Oct. 23, a timeline that the opposition has criticized as too hasty.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democratic mayoral candidate who would likely face off against Bloomberg if the mayor were successful at changing the law, has said two hearings at City Hall in Manhattan are not enough.
He says voters throughout the city should have multiple opportunities to speak their minds at hearings held in their neighborhoods.
Another opposition group, the Working Families Party, said it was encouraging New Yorkers to flood Thursday's session to make the case for addressing the term-limits law through a voter referendum, rather than with City Council legislation.
"There is an element of the city that feels like, 'My voice is getting taken away, I better speak up now,"' said Working Families Party spokesman Dan Levitan. "On this critical issue, they've only given people one chance and a couple of weeks to be heard."
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who supports Bloomberg's quest, said Wednesday that the process was put together quickly because of the importance of the issue.
"I don't think in any way shape or form that this is being rushed through, and we're going to make sure that anyone who wants to testify has that opportunity this week," she said.
(© 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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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