The New York City Council held two days of hearings last week on a bill to overturn a voter-approved term-limit law. Such a move would allow Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others to run for a third term.
City voters approved term limits twice in public referendums in the 1990s, but some elected officials have long chafed at the restriction. Though the issue has set off a political battle, many observers think a change in the law allowing a third term is likely to pass.
Hearings at City Hall were packed with people testifying and observing.
The issue has set off heated debate about whether the City Council should make the decision rather than holding another referendum.
“Should the 52 members of the council substitute their judgment for eight million people?” Comptroller William Thompson Jr. said in an interview. “The question isn’t whether Mike Bloomberg is going to do a better job than someone else … If you attempt to make a change to term limits you need to go back to the voters. I just think that’s democracy and I think that’s the issue.”
Thompson is planning to run for mayor. Asked whether he could do a better job as mayor than Bloomberg, Thompson said: “I think I could do a good job.”
City Council member David Weprin, who chairs the finance committee and has been planning to run for comptroller, has introduced a bill calling for another public referendum on term limits.
The council took up the issue after Bloomberg said he would run again if the council undid term limits. Proponents of allowing for another term in office have argued that the city’s financial crisis calls for continuity of leadership. The council could vote on the issue this week.
