Cathie Black Resigns Awwwwwww

Cathleen Black, Her Approval Ratings In The Dumps, Takes A Hike. Is Mayor Bloomberg Next ?

In a news analysis in The New York Times, today's resignation of the New York City schools chancellor is framed among other major failures of the stumbling and bumbling Bloomberg administration, such as :

• The city's botched snow removal following the post-Christmas blizzard ;
• The mayor's tin-eared suggestions that residents got to a Broadway show in almost 3 feet of unplowed snow ;
• The hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money wasted on the scandalous CityTime payroll system ;
• The tens of millions of taxpayer money allegedly stolen by CityTime contractors ;
• The horrible death of an emaciated 4-year-old girl in child protective services ; and
• The homicide charges against a child welfare worker and his supervisor in the death of the 4-year-old girl.

The above list, according to a conservative analysis by The NYTimes, points to a major setback for Mayor Bloomberg -- and it points to a bad omen for the mayor's th3rd t3rm.

''For his part, Mr. Bloomberg seems aware that symptoms of “third-term-itis” have manifested themselves. For weeks now, he has been using his own money to pay for campaign-style advertisements, nominally to bolster his battle with the teachers’ union, but widely taken as an effort to lift his sagging approval ratings,'' reported The NYTimes.

Maybe if she had billions, Ms. Black could have run endless loops of campaign commercials the way that Mayor Bloomberg does.

Kenneth Sherrill, a professor of political science at Hunter College, told The NYTimes, that voters are ''tired'' of Mayor Bloomberg.

Term Limits Swindle

What I want to know is the history on Terms Limits in the first place. In respect of Question 1, the Charter Revision Barter Commission seems to want to let current f1rst t3rm politicians to be eligible to run for office for a total of 3 consecutive times. Thus, if Question 1 is fully approved, it won’t fully go into effect into 2021. What I want to know is how were f1rst t3rm politicians treated when voters first approved two-t3rm limits ? Were they allowed to run for sequential terms in infinity ? No, once the law changes, everybody must change along with it. Why do we have to create exempted classes of politicians, to whom the laws don’t apply ? Are some politicians more above the law than others ? Is that the real message that the Charter Revision Barter Commission wants to send to voters ? Like Suzannah B. Troy is asking, is anybody listening ?

Term limits scandal never dies

Onc3, twic3, thric3 : This tim3, how do w3 know it's for r3al ?

Th3 2010 chart3r r3vision bart3r commission 3mpan3ll3d by thr33-timing Mayor Micha3l Bloomb3rg is r3comm3nding that citiz3ns of N3w York City onc3 again vot3 on a r3f3r3ndum that would r3strict th3 numb3r of tim3s a politician can s3rv3 in offic3 to only two t3rms.

Two t3rms was ''the old limit - twice ratified by city voters - before Bloomberg decided to run for a third term in 2008 and pushed the City Council to extend it,'' Th3 New York Daily N3ws r3port3d.

M3anwhil3, in a r3c3nt blog post on Th3 N3w York Tim3s, som3body comm3nt3d, "How many times do we have to vote for term limits before they become permanent law ?"

As if th3 commission3rs working on th3 chart3r-bart3r could r3ad our minds, this tim3 commission3rs ar3 consid3ring asking vot3rs ''to ban future City Councils from extending the terms of politicians already in office,'' th3 Daily N3ws add3d.

Reflecting badly on Bloombo Dicto

Quoted entirely from The New York Times, but with an added hyperlink at the very end :

Editorial : Redoing the City Charter
Published: April 9, 2010

To help quiet the uproar about changing New York City’s term-limits law so he could run for a third term, Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised to set up a commission to rethink the City Charter from top to bottom. The mayor has said “every issue will be on the table, and every voice will be heard,” which is appropriate for what amounts to the first major review of the city’s governing constitution since 1989.

The committee began work last week and already there are uncomfortable signs that issues of particular interest to Mr. Bloomberg — like term limits and nonpartisan voting — will be hurried through in an effort to get them on the ballot in November. That would be a serious mistake, and reflect badly on the mayor and the 15 able civic leaders he has named to the commission.

Any broad recasting of the City Charter has to be done methodically and fairly. That cannot possibly happen in time for this November’s ballot. The following November is not a good choice either, because there would be little else to draw voters to the polls. The most sensible date would be 2012, even if that means reappointing the commission beyond its two-year term.

The commission’s chairman, Matthew Goldstein, chancellor of the City University of New York, has promised to keep some distance from City Hall and engage in “extensive public outreach” before any proposals are made. His first effort was not encouraging. On very short notice, only about 100 people showed up for the commission’s only scheduled public hearing in Manhattan. One official rightly deemed the turnout as “disgraceful” for a city of opinionated people.

The abbreviated session further reinforced suspicions that the whole exercise is really aimed at getting a swift vote this year on term limits and nonpartisan elections. Term limits are a seductive but fundamentally undemocratic idea that can prematurely terminate the careers of some very good public servants. Voters should decide who gets thrown out of office and who stays longer on the job.

Nonpartisan elections are another lofty-sounding idea that create more problems than they solve. Political parties can keep good candidates from succeeding, but parties vet many more. Winners in nonpartisan elections often turn out to have only one real asset: loads of cash. Nonpartisan elections also could undermine New York’s model campaign financing laws.

There are other important issues that need to be addressed. The comptroller, not the public advocate, should assume the mayor’s duties if the mayor can no longer serve. The city’s land use system needs rethinking. Ways should be found to encourage more candidates to run for office and to increase voter turnout.

The last major charter revision was almost three years in the making. Slapping a few politically charged items on the ballot this fall is a recipe for mischief. The commission must do it right: aim for 2012.

Rachel Trachtenburg Speaks on Bloomberg's Term Limits

Bloomberg should not be given the right to extend term limits when the people spoke twice and voted for term limits.

"Rachel Trachteburg, who created a stir at the public hearings at city hall on 10/16/08, speaks in front of ground zero about Mayor Bloomberg's extended term limits as voted upon by council members at City Hall. "

I hope you will listen to this little girl, who will change your mind about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ill-fated campaign for a controversial third term as mayor of New York City.