In spite of the fact that the last two times the term limit issue was voted on in NYC the voters decided IN FAVOR of a 2 term limit-- Mayor Bloomberg and members of the city council voted to waive the rule this cycle so that he could run for a 3rd term as mayor.
By a 29-22 vote, council members handed Mr. Bloomberg his most personal political triumph yet, and dramatically reshaped the political landscape for 2009.
While legal challenges are expected in the days to come, many election law experts believe that the measure will survive. That means Mr. Bloomberg, given his popularity and his intention to spend $80 million to win a third term, would instantly become the favorite in the race.
The mayor had pushed aggressively behind the scenes for the legislation after announcing three weeks ago that he wished to remain in office and steer the city through its deepening economic trouble. -David Chen NYTIMES
So much for democracy.
With basically a limitless budget Mike is a favorite now to win the race easily in 2009. The behind the scenes story about why so many city council members were willing to vote against the people of NY will be coming out in the weeks and months ahead. One point though- the waiver is for this cycle only, and also cleared the way for the council members who would have been term limited out to ALSO run for a 3 term. So I am sure that helped his chances of passing this nefarious measure.
I am not totally against the idea of a third term, but the mayor should have asked the voters not the political establishment. If the voters said yes, let's waive the term limit, then fine. But this way it is the Mayor and 52 people deciding the system of government for all of the millions of citizens of the city.
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