In 1993 the people of New York City overwhelmingly voted for term limits. In 1996, the issue came up again and once more it was voted in - this time extending the term from 8 years to 12 because it seemed to make sense at the time.
What about this does the City Council not understand?
Don't they get that New Yorkers, who are quite savvy when it comes to political issues, wanted to restrict those who had a lock on Council seats and other city wide offices - all due to the heavy influence of political clubs.
Who are these council members who blithely ignore the fact that New Yorkers have twice now voted for term limits? Are we gradually moving toward a dictatorship where our opinion or vote does not matter?
According to a recent article in the New York Times on August 28th, a majority of Council Members surveyed supported extending term limits -- even though city residents have twice voted for them. 27 out of 38 interviewed favored extending term limits - only 8 opposed altering the rules.
Each member of the City Council who want the rules changed, while in the middle of the game, knew what they were getting into when they were elected. They include Miguel Martinez and Domenic Recchia, Jr. to name two. Thomas White has an interesting spin n keeping his job - "From the civil rights point of view, term limits have denied people the right to vote because they can't vote for who they want to. If I like the way you represent me in your district, and you enjoy the things I am doing for the district, why would I want to change you?"
You're kidding - right, Mr. White? I mean - that was the whole point of the public voting for term limits because the Council had gotten so stagnant under Peter Vallone. The political clubs with their influence controlled politics even more than they do now. People demanded a chanage. The ballot initiative was true democracy.
And sorry, Kendall Stewart if it has taken you six years to "learn the ropes." Tough learning curve. But you knew that going into this. Don't change rules in the middle of the game!
Ah - but there is still some honor left in politics. John Liu: "The issue at hand is not term limits, it's who decides. Is it 52 people - 51 council members and the mayor - or is it 8 million people?
And our man, Tony Avella is quoted as saying - "The day we change the term limits is the day we take a step toward dictatorship. We seem to have someone in the mayor's office and speaker's office who think they can change the law to stay in office."
Tony Avella is running for the office of Mayor. Visit his site at www.tonyavellaformayor.com to sign his "I support term limits petition."
