From Land Grabs to THE Power Grab
Report From the Big Autocracy
The City Council just voted 29-22 to approve Mayor Bloomberg's bill to extend
term limits allow him to spend $80 million to run for Mayor again in 2009
despite two voter referenda in 1993 and 1996 that enacted term limits.
On his Atlantic Yards Report Norman Oder has written about the relationship
between the Mayor's term limits power grab and the Atlantic Yards land grab:
Connecting
the opposition to Bloomberg's power grab to AY opposition
At
the term limits hearing, AY opponents and supporters make their mark
And blogger Michael White wrote on his Noticing New York blog about the
nexus of money money money, politics, the power grab and the land grab:
Are
the Atlantic Yards Land Grab and City Official Fraud Being Used to Finance Bloomberg’s
Bid for Billionaire Term Limit Exceptionalism?
The final debate before the vote featured three Councilmembers who have played
a key role on both sides of the Atlantic Yards fight: Councilwoman Letitia James,
Councilman Bill de Blasio and Councilman David Yassky.
James (against Atlantic Yards) and de Blasio (in favor of Atlantic Yards) valiantly
led the opposition against the Mayor's power grab, while Yassky (still undecided
on Atlantic Yards, we guess, who knows?), undecided until the last moment, illogically
voted for the power grab after trying to amend the Mayor's bill to require
a voter referendum to extend term limits. If that was intended as a fig leaf,
the leaf fell off.
Needless to say, it is not a suprise to us that this Mayor who unilaterally took
the decision-making power over Atlantic Yards away from the City Council, fostering
Bruce Ratner's land grab, took the next step and grabbed the power, today, with
strong arm tactics. What is a bit surprising is that the body whose power was
usurped by the Mayor for Atlantic Yards allowed him to do it again.
Council
Votes, 29 to 22, to Extend Term Limits
NY Times City Room blog
By Sewell
Chan AND Jonathan
P. Hicks
Updated, 4:40 p.m. | After a spirited,
emotional and at times raucous debate, the New York City Council voted, 29
to 22, on Thursday afternoon to extend term limits, allowing Mayor Michael
R. Bloomberg to seek re-election next year and undoing the result of two voter
referendums that had imposed a limit of two four-year terms.
The vote was a major victory for Mayor Bloomberg — a billionaire
and lifelong Democrat who was elected mayor as a Republican in 2001, won
re-election in 2005 and decided just weeks ago that he wished to seek a
third term in 2009 — and for the Council’s speaker, Christine
C. Quinn, but the intense acrimony surrounding the decision could come at
great cost.
After Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, who presides over the Council, announced
the final result, the balcony erupted in shouts of “The city’s
for sale!” and “Shame on you!”
Earlier, at 3:22 p.m. the Council rejected, 28 to 22, a key amendment that
would have called for a public referendum on term limits by summoning a
Charter Revision Commission, which would schedule a special election. One
member, James Sanders Jr. of Queens, abstained on the amendment. (See the
end of this article for the full roll call.)
Opponents of the bill to extend
term limits without a public vote crowded the balcony of the Council chamber.
As Ms. Gotbaum announced the final vote count on the amendment, groans
erupted from the balcony, which was packed with members of the public opposed
to extending term limits without a public vote. The Council immediately
turned its attention to the main bill, which would extend the limit to three
terms from two.
Councilman Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn, who supported the amendment, warned
his colleagues that the Council’s legitimacy would be forever tarnished.
“The people of the city will long remember what we have done here
today, and the people will be unforgiving,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We
are stealing like a thief in the night their right to shape our democracy.”
Councilman David Yassky of Brooklyn, one of the members who introduced
the amendment, announced that despite its defeat, he would vote for the
underlying bill. He said that term limits were bad public policy and that
a limit of 12 years, instead of 8, would help strengthen future lawmakers
in the face of strong mayors.
Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn adamantly disagreed. “The city
of New York has never, ever in the history of our nation postponed a transfer
of power, regardless of the circumstances,” she said, quoting an editorial
from The New York Times in 2001, when Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani sought to
extend his term by three months in the aftermath of 9/11.
...
Continue
reading
From The Times: Roll Call, 4:35 p.m., on Introduction 845-A,
to extend term limits for New York City elected officials to three terms from
two. 29 yes, 22 no.
NO:
Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. of Queens, no
Tony Avella of Queens, no
Charles Barron of Brooklyn, no
Gale A. Brewer of Manhattan, no
Anthony Como of Queens, no
Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn, no
Mathieu Eugene of Brooklyn, no
Daniel R. Garodnick of Manhattan, no
James F. Gennaro of Queens, no
Vincent J. Gentile of Brooklyn, no
Eric N. Gioia of Queens, no
Vincent M. Ignizio of Staten Island, no
Letitia James of Brooklyn, no
Jessica S. Lappin of Manhattan, no
John C. Liu of Queens, no
Melissa Mark-Viverito of Manhattan, no
Michael E. McMahon of Staten Island, no
Rosie Mendez of Manhattan, no
Hiram Monserrate of Queens, no
James S. Oddo of Staten Island, no
Annabel Palma of the Bronx, no
David I. Weprin of Queens, no
YES:
Maria del Carmen Arroyo of the Bronx, yes
Maria Baez of the Bronx, yes
Leroy G. Comrie Jr. of Queens, yes
Inez E. Dickens of Manhattan, yes
Erik Martin Dilan of Brooklyn, yes
Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, yes
Lewis A. Fidler of Brooklyn, yes
Helen D. Foster of the Bronx, yes
Alan J. Gerson of Manhattan, yes
Sara M. Gonzalez of Brooklyn, yes
Robert Jackson of Manhattan, yes
Melinda R. Katz of Queens, yes
G. Oliver Koppell of the Bronx, yes
Miguel Martinez of Manhattan, yes
Darlene Mealy of Brooklyn, yes
Michael C. Nelson of Brooklyn, yes
Christine C. Quinn of Manhattan, yes
Domenic M. Recchia Jr. of Brooklyn, yes
Diana Reyna of Brooklyn, yes
Joel Rivera of the Bronx, yes
James Sanders Jr. of Queens, yes
Larry B. Seabrook of the Bronx, yes
Helen Sears of Queens, yes
Kendall Stewart of Brooklyn, yes
James Vacca of the Bronx, yes
Peter F. Vallone, Jr. of Queens, yes
Albert Vann of Brooklyn, yes
Thomas White Jr. of Queens, yes
David Yassky of Brooklyn, yes
Posted: 10.23.08
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