NYC Council Disses Voters: Extends Term Limits for Members and Bloomberg

New York City voters twice voted for term limits against the wishes of the politicians--and today a majority are against undoing the hard fought reform--at least not without the people's input.

So what did the City Council do today at the behest of Mayor Michael Bloomberg? It effectively said to the citizens of New York City to piss-off -- and voted to extend to the terms anyway by a vote of 29 to 22. (btw: 23 of the 29 yes votes came from members barred from seeking re-election under the voter approved law.)

Additionally, with little voter support for this unprecedented and undemocratic power-grab, the Council acted to deny the public a say in the whole matter by squashing an attempt to put the controversial amendment to a public vote.

It seems that the super-rich and powerful--and the politicians that do their bidding--just don't get it.

Nydia Velazquez (and others) believes that the power-grab violates minority voting rights, so we should see a challenge in federal court.

As a final option, voters will get a year from now to cast their votes for or against the people that just blew them off.

These are the 27 politicians on the City Council that voted for extending their terms and against a public vote on the amendment:

Bronx (7 of 8 or 88% voted with Bloomberg and against the voters)
Maria del Carmen Arroyo
Maria Baez*
Helen D. Foster*
G. Oliver Koppell*
Joel Rivera*
Larry B. Seabrook*
James Vacca

Brooklyn (11 of 16 or 69% voted with Bloomberg and against the voters)
Erik Martin Dilan*
Simcha Felder*
Lewis A. Fidler*
Sara M. Gonzalez
Darlene Mealy
Michael C. Nelson*
Domenic M. Recchia Jr.*
Diana Reyna*
Kendall Stewart*
Albert Vann*
David Yassky*

Manhattan (4 of 10 or 40% voted with Bloomberg and against the voters)
Inez E. Dickens
Robert Jackson*
Miguel Martinez*
Christine C. Quinn*

Queens (5 of 14 or 36% voted with Bloomberg and against the voters)
Leroy G. Comrie Jr.*
Melinda R. Katz*
Helen Sears*
Peter F. Vallone Jr.*
Thomas White Jr.

Staten Island (0 of 3 or 0% voted with Bloomberg and against the voters)

Additionally, Manhattan's Alan J. Gerson* voted for extending terms limits as well as for a public referendum. And Sanders Jr.* of Queens voted for extending terms limits but abstained on the question of a public referendum.

*term-limited under the public's term limits law

Link

Related:
Working Families Against Bloomy's Power Grab
Public Forum - Term Limits: Their Impact and Who Decides
Bloomberg's Power Grab Headlines
Video Message from Billionaires for Bloomberg on Term Limits
Growing Opposition To Bloomberg Power Grab
U.S. Rep. Velázquez: Changing Term Limits for Bloomberg Violates Voting Rights