Submitted by Councilman Lew Fidler, Sep 8, 2008 11:53

To the Editor: I was very disappointed to see comments I made to your reporter with regard to the term limit issue mischaracterized. First, I specifically expressed that I was not being critical of the Mayor on this issue. Lord knows, I have had my share of disagreements with the Mayor on issues of substance. Indeed, at a recent appearance at a senior center together, the Mayor good naturedly acknowledged this saying that "when I was on the other side, I could be annoying", and I wear that "epithet" as a badge of honor. My comment, however, was directed at Mr. Lauder and his PR team, which has disingenuously crafted an ad ignoring the Mayor and directing all criticism at the Council as if the Council had generated this debate to begin with. My suspicions were confirmed in the same article, when Lauder's hired mouthpiece indicated that "the Council was an easy target." So much for the high ground, eh? And perhaps it would violate some kind of Billionaire's code not to speak ill of one another. Additionally, I NEVER blamed civil servants for making term limits into bad government. What I tried to say to your reporter was that term limits empowered the permanent government, a group of bureaucrats who survive from Administration to Administration, and lobbyists-the power elite if you will-who are often not known to voters and are never subject to an election. My other point on this, neglected completely in the article despite the fact that it was the point I stressed the most, is that the NYC Charter is executive-centric in its distribution of powers. Term limits for the Council weaken the body as a counter-balance to the powerful executive branch. This is especially so when the body's leader, the Speaker, is inherently a freshman or a lame duck on his or her first day in office. It is bad government in my view, a view I have held openly since 1993. Reporters ought to write what is said to them, and not what sounds good and fits the flow of what they want to write. In the future, I will endeavor to be crystal clear with The Sun. As to Mayor Bloomberg, whether we have two years or six, I am sure that we will have our policy disagreements fequently enough. On this one, we do not. Sincerely, Lew Fidler Assistant Majority Leader New York City Council

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