New York Council Vote Lets Bloomberg Run for 3rd Term

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 -- In a raucous meeting, the City Council approved a bill Thursday that would allow Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to run for a third term and bypass a term-limits law that voters have twice affirmed in referendums.

The vote was a victory for Bloomberg (I), the billionaire mayor who has argued he has the financial background and unique expertise to steer the city through what is feared to be the worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression.

But the mayor's drive to overturn the two-term limit by legislation instead of popular vote has ignited opposition from good-government groups and city residents, divided the City Council and roused intense public debate.

Lawyers representing nonprofit groups and politicians may file a lawsuit in federal court to stop the legislation, said one of the attorneys, civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel.

City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., who had been expected to run for mayor, noted that a poll showed nearly 90 percent of New Yorkers want the term-limits issue put to a referendum. He said he would join such legal action.

"It's a sad day for the city. It really suspended democracy," Thompson said.

As Bloomberg stepped into a limousine outside City Hall shortly after the vote, protesters surrounded him, yelling "Shame on you!" and "Bloomberg hates New York!"

The mayor said in a statement that the council's vote gave people "fuller choice" in the election.

Thursday's 29 to 22 vote allows Bloomberg, and some members of the City Council, to run for one more four-year term. Bloomberg is expected to spend $80 million of his personal fortune on his reelection campaign.

Earlier, the council rejected an amendment to the bill that would have called for a referendum to decide the issue. Council member Bill de Blasio, who supported that amendment, said that vote could have a lasting impact on the public trust.

"The people of the city will long remember what we have done here today, and the people will be unforgiving," said de Blasio, who had unsuccessfully petitioned the state Supreme Court in Manhattan to block the council's vote.

But council member Domenic M. Recchia Jr. advocated extending term limits because of the economic crisis. He paraphrased Abraham Lincoln, who ran for reelection in 1864 during the Civil War, saying, "When crossing a river, you don't swap horses halfway."

Speaker Christine Quinn said that "voters should have the choice to continue with their current leadership" as they face a deep downturn and a potential loss of 165,000 jobs.

Two days of packed hearings last week attracted hundreds of speakers. A majority of private citizens appeared to oppose the bill, but prominent supporters included former mayor Ed Koch (D) and former governor Mario Cuomo (D).

On Thursday, even as they voted, many opposition council members said the problem was not the issue of term limits itself. Council member Vincent J. Gentile said he might have supported a referendum if the mayor had chosen that approach.