Ron Rosenbaum rages about the dictatorial ambition of billionaires because Bloomberg wants to run for a third term:
And now Comandante Michael Bloomberg seeks to turn New York City into a banana republic. He wants to ignore two citywide votes for term limits—because (of course!) at the time they were passed, in the '90s, voters had not yet had the chance to contemplate the full grandeur of Michael Bloomberg. So far above the kind of mortal mayor the term limits were designed for that the ordinary rules shouldn't apply. So now, even though he's served the two terms the law allows, he wants to find a way to grant himself the power to run again.
The key here is that Bloomberg wants "the power to run again." Bloomberg isn't (like Rudy) asking to stay on an extra term- he wants to be an option for the people of New York to choose (or to choose to vote for somebody else). If they don't like it, it's pretty easy to pull the lever for the other guy. And it's not like he's overturning the term limit laws by fiat- he's asking the elected city council to change the rules. If folks don't like it, throw your councilmember out too. New York has no shortage of qualified and well-funded aspirants for higher office, and office-holders frequently face primary challenges. A situation where the mayor might get the elected legislature to vote to change term limit rules to allow him to run against a number of competent challengers is a pretty far cry from Hugo-Chavez land.
2 comments:
right on!
Chavez tried to extend term limits so that he could run again. He did not try to extend his term in office. Rather than have a compliant legislature change the law, he tried to do it be referendum. His side lost and he respected the results. You are right, it's not Chavez-land. That land is more democratic.
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