New York Law Blog

With the vote pending in New York City Council over extending the term limit laws, two of the council  members requested a judge stop the vote saying it “poses a conflict of interest”. The extension of the term limit laws has been constantly debated in political circles as well as in the media and with the general public. Twice in the 1990’s, the public voted against the term limit extension, and now the city council wants to take it to vote on their own.

Randy Mastro, who represents council members Bill de Blasio and Letitia James and served as a deputy mayor under Bloomberg’s predecessor Rudy Giuliani, argued it is a conflict for the council to vote to extend their own political careers.

"This case concerns the blatant violation of the City Charter’s conflicts laws that will necessarily result from the Council’s vote on such self-serving legislation," said the lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court.

According to a recent poll, 89 percent of New York City voters say that the vote belongs in their hands, and not in the hands of city council. Should the injunction to stop the vote fail, the 51 members of city council will vote on the law today.

UPDATE: City council voted 29-22 in favor of extending term limits on Thursday evening. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had this to say shortly following their vote:

"Today, the majority of the City Council decided to give the people of New York a fuller choice in the November, 2009 election. I believe that was the right choice, and I want to thank Speaker Quinn for her leadership.

"Those of us who work on both sides of City Hall must now move forward with the important decisions that face us, particularly finding ways to soften the fallout from the economic downturn and balancing our budget as revenues decline. We have a lot of work to do together to get New York through these tough times."

The debate over the New York City term limit law has been debated ad nauseam in the previous weeks, and is coming to a head as the election looms near. The public weighed in on the subject during a more than ten hour public hearing, with no resolution in sight. The public will not get to vote on the matter, that falls first to the City Council’s Governmental Operations Committee before it goes to the full city council, but made sure their voices were heard on the matter.

Protesters carrying a blanket-size sign reading "Bloomberg to Democracy: Drop Dead" briefly interrupted the meeting. Before the small group was ushered out, they yelled that voters had already decided the issue. Voters supported term limits twice, in 1993 and 1996.

Supporters like Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said the current limit reflects the feelings of a public burdened by scandal and crooked officials in the 1990s.

"At the time, New Yorkers had lived through so many recent corruption scandals that they had lost faith in the integrity of their elected officials," he said. "Back then, the rallying cry was, ‘Throw the bums out.’"

Opponents said the proposal is diverting focus from the slumped economy. They criticized supporters who said Bloomberg, who got his start on Wall Street, is the best candidate to guide the city through the fiscal crisis.

Roughly 150 members of the public spoke at the meeting, which included Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch. The bill to extend the term limits looks to go to vote on Thursday.

-Term limit law issues keep rising up again and again. Former presidential candidate and New York senator Hillary Clinton has weighed in on the potential vote to extend term limits from eight years to 12.

The former first lady told NY1, "It is disturbing that voters voted twice, so I think that the City Council and the mayor have to first go through the hearings they’re holding and try to figure out what they will do."

"They have the legal authority to make the change… but I really am going to watch from the sidelines now because this is a very intense, local debate and the people of New York City should be heard," she added.

-The Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece by Jason L. Riley regarding the term limits and how he believes they shouldn’t be extended:

But the argument for extending the two-term limit for Mr. Bloomberg — a self-made billionaire who got his start on Wall Street — is that the city needs someone with his financial acumen to help weather the fallout from the banking crisis. The biggest problem with that argument is that Mr. Bloomberg hasn’t been very adept at managing the city’s finances, even though he’s had record revenues to work with.

There is something deeply undemocratic about legislatively overturning the will of the people without giving voters a say in the matter. And there’s something deeply disturbing about a local press corps that lets the political class get away with it.

-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced amendments to state law regarding recycling to offset operation expenses. The changes are to be implemented within the next 120 days.

New York State law requires all municipalities to separate recyclables from trash before collection and processing. This "source separation" is intended to decrease waste, save waste disposal costs and increase revenues from the sale of recycled materials, according to officials with Cuomo’s office.

-Members of congress are questioning the legality of the planned auction of several flight slots out of New York City’s three main airports. An investigation into the auction noted that the FAA does not have the authorization to sell the inbound and outbound flight plans.

"Your office has the statutory responsibility and duty to investigate potential unlawful behavior and report violations,” Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, and Representative James Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a letter to Inspector General Calvin Scovel.

The letter may add to pressure on the FAA to scrap the first auctions, planned for Jan. 12. Airlines yesterday asked an appeals court to halt the sales.