Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Topics

Topics

Term Limits Extension Gets Final Signature


Scores of New York City residents filed into the mayor's side of City Hall -- a rare space for such a public spectacle -- for the city's final hearing on term limits Monday morning.

Despite the relentless opposition and at times piercing criticism, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as expected, signed a term-limits extension into law just before 2 p.m., effectively allowing dozens of term-limited officials, including himself, to seek another four years in office.

"I feel like this time the public should have a choice," the mayor said, arguing that allowing officials to seek another term would boost democracy and broaden ballot choices. "I am going to sign the bill and the public will have a choice."

Monday's bill signing finalizes the 29 to 22 vote by the City Council last month approving the term-limits extension.

The legislation, which takes effect immediately, turns next year's citywide election on its head, sparking an immediate revision of the city's campaign finance regulations. Dozens of candidates, many of whom thought they would have competitive races for open seats, must now weigh whether they want to challenge eight-year incumbents.

Contribution limits are set depending upon the office being sought. Because, potentially, dozens of candidates could decide to seek re-election instead of higher office, the city's Campaign Finance Board issued an advisory opinion Monday on how to address the different types of expenditures and contributions without harshly penalizing one candidate or another.

The advisory opinion would allow candidates to freeze their current accounts if they had been seeking higher office, saving the "war chest" for another race. Or, the board's chairman the Rev. Joseph P. Parkes said, if he or she wants to continue using the funds, he or she could return contributions that exceed the spending limits.

"In the final analysis, what we have attempted to do is to provide guidance to affected candidates in a timely way, based on these objectives: to make it practical for candidates to join the campaign finance program, to treat both incumbents and potential challengers fairly, and to encourage competitive races for all offices covered by the program," said the chairman in a prepared statement.

What's Next

The term limits battle is far from over, though. Immediately after the mayor signed the bill, council members Letitia James and Bill de Blasio, along with mayoral candidates Rep. Anthony Weiner and Comptroller William Thompson Jr., vowed to fight the action in court. Several lawsuits have already been filed.

"If democracy was on life support after the City Council hearing, it was killed today," said Thompson.

Monday's public hearing was a condensed rerun of about 20 hours of testimony in front of the City Council last month. Some of the same characters appeared and testimony was still divided -- about half of the 137 speakers supported the mayor's bill, an administration spokesman said.

Members of the public entered the Blue Room -- the mayor's press briefing area -- and spilled over into the building's vast rotunda starting around 9 a.m. One at a time, they stood in front of a gargantuan portrait of Alexander Hamilton, chiming in about democracy and oligarchy, tyranny and justice.

Groups were led into the small and packed room five at a time. Because of the tight quarters (the Blue Room is traditionally where bill signings are held), speakers could not stay inside to hear other testimony. That was also a point of criticism.

"This is the least public public hearing I've ever been to," said Henry Stern, a former parks commissioner.

Sitting behind a freshly polished wooden table, the mayor, accompanied by a half dozen of his male City Council colleagues, listened to four and half hours of testimony on term limits. Rarely did Bloomberg crack a smile, but instead appeared stone-faced and impenetrable.

That did not discourage some speakers from emotional outbursts. One called the mayor "public enemy number one" and others said the legislation was merely a power grab.

"You've behaved in ways that would make Boss Tweed blush with embarrassment," sad Gene Russianoff of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Many of the opponents said extending term limits legislatively undermines the will of the people who twice voted in the 1990s to keep term limits at two. They called for a public referendum.

A statement released by the administration after the hearing argued there would be no time for a special election, because it would need to be certified by the U.S. Department of Justice. They also said it would be tied up in court as candidates were seeking petitions to run for office in 2009, creating uncertainty and confusion.

Members of police, fire and public employees unions came out in force to support the mayor, arguing his expertise is needed during the city's uncertain fiscal future.

"I don't see this as a self-serving bill," said Gary La Barbera, president of the New York City Central Labor Council. "I believe we are in unprecedented economic times."

While this is far from the end of the term limits debate, Monday's hearing came with a sense of finality for the bill's supporters, maybe even for the mayor.

"Everyone, thank you for your patience," the mayor said after signing the bill and while exiting the room. "And make sure you vote tomorrow."  

Staten Island 63rd Assembly District: Running on Four Lines


Democratic Assemblymember Michael Cusick is running for re-election this November. Cusick was first elected to the Assembly in 2002 and has focused much of his time in the Assembly on preventing what he considers to be overdevelopment of the district and improving education.

Cusick represents one of the more Democratic districts in Staten Island - the 63rd has two thirds as many registered Republicans as registered Democrats - but Cusick has covered all his bases, garnering endorsements from the Working Families Party, the Independence Party and the Conservative Party.

David Anthony Pascarella is running as the Republican candidate, pledging to "change Albany's culture of corruption" and speak out for "our values."

Both candidates have ties to prominent New York politicians. Before being elected to the Assembly, Cusick served as liaison to New York State officials for U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. He has also served as the Chief of Staff for former Assemblymember Eric Vitaliano.

www.pascarellaforassembly.com Pascarella, a lawyer, has served on the staff of New York City Council members and has also worked in the Mayor's Office of Operations under both Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg.

At the last disclosure deadline, Cusick reported having $42,000 in campaign funds, with about $22,000 in recent contributions. Pascarella reported having $13,366 with $2,675 in recent donations.

Queens 28th Assembly District: A Republican Tries Again


Incumbent Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi was first elected to represent the 28th District in a May 2005 special election. He is running for re-election this year as the candidate of the Democratic and Working Families parties. Hevesi, the son of controversial former city and state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, worked for other local politicians before being elected.

Hevesi's Republican opponent is Walter Schmidt. Schmidt ran in the 2006 Republican primary for the seat, but lost. Hevesi then went on to defeat the Republican nominee by a wide margin in the general election. This time, Schmidt won the GOP nomination, but it remains to be seen if he can fare any better against Hevesi in this Forest Hills district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of almost three to one.

In his most recent filing, Hevesi reported having about $22,000 in campaign funds in his last financial disclosure. Schmidt has not filed any reports.



Print Friendly and PDF

Editor's Choice


Gotham Gazette: New York Voters Approve $4.2 Billion Environmental Bond Act
New York Voters Approve $4.2 Billion Environmental Bond Act
Gotham Gazette: 
New York City Voters Approve Racial Justice Ballot Measures
New York City Voters Approve Racial Justice Ballot Measures
Gotham Gazette: 
Housing Development in New York City Slows to a Crawl as Officials Debate Tax Incentives
Housing Development in New York City Slows to a Crawl as Officials Debate Tax Incentives
Gotham Gazette: 
City Council Examines Low Voter Turnout, Moving Local Elections to Even Years City Council Examines Low Voter Turnout, Moving Local Elections to Even Years