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It's Official — Term Limits Will Appear on Ballot, Charter Commission Says

By DNAinfo Staff on August 12, 2010 2:55pm

The term limits law was changed so that Mayor Michael Bloomberg could run for a third term.
The term limits law was changed so that Mayor Michael Bloomberg could run for a third term.
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Mayor's Office/Kristen Artz

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

CITY HALL — Term limits will be on the ballot once again this fall, giving voters the chance to weigh in on whether elected officials should be limited to serving two terms or three, the Charter Revision Commission decided Wednesday.

However, after four rounds of voting, the commission ruled in a nine-to-six vote that the provision will only apply to newly elected officials, meaning that all of the currently serving City Council members will be allowed to serve three terms, regardless of what the voters decide.

After months of passionate protest and debate, the commission, which was convened by the mayor to examine flaws in the city's Charter, chose not to include a referendum on nonpartisan elections as a means of increasing dwindling voter turnout.

If approved, the measure would have allowed all New Yorkers — regardless of whether they're registered with a party or not — to vote in a first round of elections, where all candidates would be listed on the ballot. The top two candidates from that vote would then advance to a general election in November, where voters would choose between the two.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had long been an advocate of the idea, but had reportedly abandoned his efforts to force the issue in recent days.

The term limits question had been expected. Throughout the hearings, commissioners had repeatedly expressed resentment at the way that Bloomberg and the City Council had pushed through the current three-term provision to allow Bloomberg to run again in 2009, despite the fact that city voters had already rejected giving a third-term to city officials twice in similar ballot votes.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio commended the commission on its decision.

“This evening’s Charter Revision Commission vote to put the issue of term limits before voters in November is a win for democracy," he said in a statement. "Since the will of the people was overturned almost two years ago, voters have been waiting to have their voices heard on term limits. Finally, New Yorkers will have their say."

The commission also approved the inclusion of voter referendums on other topics, including decreasing the number of signatures it takes to get on the ballot and disclosing independent election expenditures.

Numerous other issues that the commission had spent hours debating failed to make it to the ballot, including reforming land use procedures and increasing the power of community boards, which had the strong support of residents who addressed the commission at its public hearings.

The commission will meet one last time at end of the month to finalize the wording of the questions that will appear on the ballot in November.

Presidential candidates are listed in English, Spanish and Chinese on the ballot of one of New York's lever-operated mechanical voting machines at a warehouse in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Presidential candidates are listed in English, Spanish and Chinese on the ballot of one of New York's lever-operated mechanical voting machines at a warehouse in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
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AP Photo/Seth Wenig