Term Limits

Getty Images

Bloomberg.

After sitting through four hours of testimony at City Hall this morning, Michael Bloomberg signed into law the term-limits extension that will allow him and other city lawmakers to run for a third consecutive four-year term in office.

He also signaled an uncertainness about supporting term limits in general.

"The one argument against term limits that I've never had a great answer to is the argument that when you have term limits, you do limit the public's choice. I feel that this time, the public should have a choice. And while I am still in favor of term limits, it is seriously something that everyone should think long and hard about: is there a better ways to do this? But I'm going to sign the bill and the public is going to have a choice.

Azi Paybarah

Union members mark attendance on a sign-in sheet at City Hall

Most of the people who showed up to the mayor's bill-signing ceremony were there to testify against it, but not all.

A whole group of union members came to City Hall to support Michael Bloomberg's term-limits legislation, and they were seen scrambled to add their names to a sign-in sheet after mayoral aides announced that only people testifying against the  bill would be allowed in.

One of them identified himself to me as Jeff, and declined to give his last name. Jeff, a middle-aged white man with gray hair, wearing blue jeans, said he received a call from “my political action committee,” which is part of the Central Labor Council.

wikimedia.org

City Hall.

The rotunda inside City Hall is full of people and reporters awaiting Michael Bloomberg's 9:30 a.m. bill signing ceremony, where he will officially sign into law the term-limits extension that allows him to run for a third term.

He will also have to listen to testimony from voters.

While the measure passed the City Council 29 to 22 on October 23, critics have vowed to continue fighting the issue.

Bloomberg critic and mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner helped organize people to come down to City Hall and testify before the mayor signed the bill, taking advantage of what he said was a requirement for the mayor to ask for public comments before putting his signature on a bill.

Getty Images

David Paterson.

Governor David Paterson attended the Citizens Union annual dinner last night at the Waldorf Astoria to present his father, Basil, with an award from the good government group.

But C.U. may or may not have appreciated it when, during his his remarks praising the nonpartisan organization, Paterson, a lawyer, began constructing an argument for why there may be legal barriers to C.U.'s two most important goals at the moment: undoing the City Council's extension of term limits and pushing for nonpartisan redistricting of the state legislature.

Citizens Union strongly opposed the term-limits extension, which was championed by elected officials it general considers allies in the reform movement: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and even Brooklyn City Councilman David Yassky.