Council Members Vying To Become Speaker in Favor of Extending Term Limit
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The seven members of the City Council vying to become the next speaker all say they are open to giving themselves and their colleagues a chance to serve three four-year terms rather than the current limit of two.
In the only scheduled public debate, the candidates gathered last night at Baruch College. In a lecture hall packed with several hundred elected officials, lobbyists, and council staffers, they were questioned on issues ranging from the use of eminent domain to noncitizen voting to what changes they would make in the council if elected speaker.
The current speaker, Gifford Miller, who has held the job since 2002, is being termed out of office. His replacement will be chosen in early January in an election that relies not on the public but on securing a majority of votes from the body’s 51 members.
The council members interested in the job – Bill de Blasio, Christine Quinn, Melinda Katz, Lewis Fidler, Leroy Comrie, David Weprin, and Joel Rivera – have long been using cam paign contributions and other means to woo their colleagues, county political establishments, unions, and other influential stakeholders. Mr. de Blasio and Ms. Quinn have been called the favorites, but with more political horse-trading still to be done, most agree that the race is open.
The candidates last night agreed on many of the substantive issues, but political analysts said winning the city’s second most powerful government job will boil down to their styles and ability to show that they can deliver for their backers. Convincing their colleagues and county leaders that they will win will also be crucial, because siding with the winner means plum committee assignments and favors in the next term.
Last night, all of the candidates said they opposed the idea of a two-term limit, but some were more definitive about extending it than others. They all also said they were against allowing noncitizens to vote and that there were in favor of the reinstating the commuter tax. Only Mr. Fidler said he did not think it was realistic that the city would ever get the necessary approval from Albany.
When asked how they would change the council, Ms. Quinn said that, among other things, she would end the practice of sending citywide mailings from the speaker to constituents. Mr. de Blasio agreed.
Earlier this year, Mr. Miller was harshly criticized by a wide variety of groups for using $1.6 million to send out fliers featuring his name and picture. His critics said it was a waste of taxpayer money and a self-promotional attempt to raise his name recognition as he was running in the mayoral primary.
When asked about what taxes they would raise or services they would cut to close the city’s looming $4.5 billion budget gap, many dodged by saying they would appeal to Washington and Albany for more financial help.
Mr. Fidler, who had several one-liners, did not buy that argument: “As long as George Bush and George Pataki are the people that we’re going to, the George Washingtons that we’re entitled to are not coming here.”
He added: “We have been taxed, fined, and feed into oblivion in this city and we cannot drive people out by raising those things further.”
Several of the candidates ripped into the Campaign Finance Board, saying it had not done enough to “level the playing field” in the just-concluded election, during which Mayor Bloomberg spent billions. Ms. Katz said the entity needs more oversight.
Mr. de Blasio said the CFB should consider a greater financial “match” for candidates facing wealthy, self-financed opponents.
The candidates all went to great lengths to paint themselves as the one who would be most responsive to members’ needs and change what is now considered a speaker-centric body, where bills and priorities can be held up by the leader.
In one of several “lightening rounds,” all seven members said that the businesses practices of a store like Wal-Mart should be relevant in land use decisions. The event was sponsored by Citizens Union, the League of Conservation Voters, and Baruch.