NYC Extends Term Limits: Bloomberg Can Run Again

New York’s City Council voted today to allow a third term for elected officials, paving the way for another Michael Bloomberg administration, the New York Daily News reports. Last-minute wrangling in the chamber, including a failed vote to establish a referendum on the issue, led to the 29-22 victory. “The City Council decided to give the people of New York a fuller choice in the November 2009 election,” Bloomberg said.

Opponents of the measure were outraged. “The public is not an obstacle for the mayor or this Council to sidestep,” one councilman said. “We ignore the voices of the very people who at one time raised their voices to put us in these seats.” Twice, New Yorkers have rejected an extension of term limits in referendum. Two of the sponsors of the new referendum voted to approve the extension. (More Michael Bloomberg stories.)