Michael Bloomberg: Now That I've Had Three Terms, Let's Go Back To Two Only

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that it's time to go back to the old two-term limit. In 2008 Bloomberg backed changing the law which enabled his current third term. The New York Times blasts:

It was the latest installment in the story of Mr. Bloomberg’s ever-evolving relationship with term limits. An outspoken supporter of two terms, he once called Council members who proposed extending them “disgraceful.” Then, as his own time in office wound down, he reversed himself and advocated for three terms, saying they offered voters greater choice. “You can make that case for two terms or three terms,” he said at the time. “In this case, after listening to everybody, I’ve been convinced that three terms is right.” Now he seems to have settled on something of a compromise: three terms for him, and only him. Mayoral allies pointed out that Mr. Bloomberg had kept his word by bringing the issue back to voters, who originally passed the two-term limit in a 1993 referendum, only to watch it be dismantled by the mayor and the Council.

Bloomberg's expected successor in 2008 was openly lesbian City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who backed the three-term change, saying Bloomberg's leadership was needed during the Wall Street meltdown. But ten days before the November 2009 election, Quinn endorsed City Controller Bill Thompson, who ended up losing to Bloomberg by a mere four points. Quinn will doubtlessly run for mayor in 2013, but faces strong opposition by a faction of the LGBT community, some of whom show up to protest many of Quinn's public appearances.

 

posted by Joe