Foes of NYC term-limits extension seek court order

Two members of the City Council went to court Wednesday to block the council from voting on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to change the term-limits law so he can run for a third term.

Brooklyn council members Bill de Blasio and Letitia James filed a petition asking the court to stop a scheduled council vote to increase the number of terms the mayor and current council members may serve. The lawmakers contend allowing a third term would violate the city's conflict of interest law.

The petition notes that the council would be voting on the extension of term limits for its own members, as well as for Bloomberg, who is pressing for the change.

A hearing on the issue was scheduled for later Wednesday. The council vote is scheduled for Thursday.

Randy Mastro, lawyer for the two petitioners, said his clients oppose the proposed term-limits vote "as a matter of deeply held principle."

The petition names the city's Conflicts of Interest Board and the council as defendants.

The board, which consists of mayoral appointees, wrote an opinion last week concluding that it was not a conflict for council members to vote on term limits changes for themselves and the mayor.

Jamie McShane, a spokesman for council Speaker Christine Quinn, who supports Bloomberg's proposal, noted Wednesday that the panel issued a "strong and decisive opinion."

"We are confident the court will agree that this lawsuit is entirely without merit," McShane said.

Two-thirds of the council members will be forced out of office next year under the existing law, which restricts the mayor, council members and other city officeholders to two consecutive four-year terms. The mayor's proposal would add the option for a third term.

On Wednesday, three council members who say they are undecided on Bloomberg's bill announced they will introduce an amendment at the Thursday meeting that seeks to have the term-limits issue decided by voter referendum. Voters twice approved term limits in the 1990s, and the majority of opponents to Bloomberg's plan say the matter should be decided by the public and not the council.

The amendment would establish a charter review commission with the intention of holding a special election by next spring.

Bloomberg, whose supporters put the proposal on a fast track for a vote before the council, has said there is not enough time for a voter referendum, given that the next mayor's race is next year. He also contends turnout would be too low in a special election, creating the potential for legal problems.

Bloomberg announced his intentions three weeks ago amid increasing turmoil on Wall Street, arguing that he is uniquely qualified to lead the city through the long-term effects of the financial crisis because of his business background. The founder of the multibillion-dollar financial data firm Bloomberg LP, the mayor is reported to be worth an estimated $20 billion.

The petitioners' court papers note that Bloomberg had previously expressed his support for term limits.

"Then, when the recent crisis in New York and worldwide financial markets unfolded, Mayor Bloomberg seized on the opportunity to make public his private desire to amend the term-limits laws" so he and some council members could stay in office, court papers say.

Bloomberg's first-ever veto when he took office in 2002 was to reject a council bill that sought to extend terms for some lawmakers. At the time, he said the proposed law was wrong because it amounted to changing the rules for personal political gain.

___

Associated Press writer Sara Kugler contributed to this story.