Well… Perhaps Something Good will come from the Term Limits Fiasco…

The New York Times reports todayAfter Term Limits vote, Tensions Rise At City Hall.” Some hopeful information (at last) is revealed following last week’s vote. You remember … this is where the NY City Council voted 29-22 to overturn voted-in (two) term limits to allow Mayor Bloomberg – and themselves – a third term.

From the article:

Tensions between City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg are erupting just a week after Ms. Quinn shepherded the mayor’s divisive legislation to loosen the city’s term limits law through the Council.

Feelings are raw between the two sides largely because Ms. Quinn took heavy political shrapnel for the mayor during the term limits battle as she rounded up support for what became an unusually difficult vote.

The current issue that’s ruffling Speaker Quinn’s feathers – and much of the City Council – is over the Mayor’s wish to change the structure of how programs for the elderly are financed. Mr. Bloomberg is hoping to push this restructuring through the City Council next. He has rarely faced heavy opposition from the Council (particularly under Ms. Quinn’s “leadership”) except for this recent overturning-the-will-of-the-voters thing.

“The tensions reveal the degree to which the bruising term limits battle, initiated by the mayor so that he can run for a third term, altered the political landscape, with Ms. Quinn and her colleagues feeling empowered to challenge the Bloomberg administration as never before,” the article continues.

As he stated he would at the end of last week, this week, Mayor Bloomberg began calling members of the City Council to try to ease the tension over the vote. However, as a CEO, our billionaire Mayor doesn’t think that he needs to cater to the whims of the Council whose members he obviously considers his employees. So he didn’t stop, as expected, on the calls at discussing the term limits vote, he started wrestling for the next vote. His attitude is … you did what I wanted, now this is what I want next. Apparently, the City Council members are not taking so kindly to that attitude.

It’s about time.

Update: So, a reader named Steve wrote in and said “Don’t be so naive. This story was planted by the City Council!” Steve has a point. Earlier, the thought crossed my mind that Bloomberg and Quinn might have come to some agreement for her to save face and let stories like this through. But I’m looking for some hope here! A story can be planted and still be true – the question becomes what degree of truth. ? And how do we ever know for sure?

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2 thoughts on “Well… Perhaps Something Good will come from the Term Limits Fiasco…”

  1. Thanks, Steve. That IS a good point.

    I’m looking for some hope here but you’re probably right.

    (Is *anything* not manipulated??)

    Cathryn
    WSP Blog

    Reply

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