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Western Queens Gazette
October 8, 2008
NY
Term Limits Issue Turns Into A Real Dogfight
Well, nobody ever said changing the term limits law was going to
be easy.
The mayor is looking for an easy way out by merely letting the City
Council vote on extending limits to 12 years in all, from two to three,
four-year terms for all citywide officials and all councilmembers.
There is, however, strong support among a number of councilmembers
for making the change through a referendum, voted on by the city's
electorate. One of the leaders pushing this proposal is Councilmember
David Weprin (D- Hollis); another is John Liu (D- Flushing).
Other than there being differences on how the change should be made,
still another group of councilmembers doesn't want to change the term
limits law at all.
Besides this, Ronald Lauder and the mayor have differences on changing
term limits. While the mayor is holding out for a permanent change,
Lauder would go along with changing term limits only for the 2009
election, because the economy is so bad generally and particularly
because the city's situation is horrendous. Given these circumstances,
the mayor should remain in office for another term because he's
uniquely qualified to lead the city through these unsettled times.
SENIORS GREET GIULIANI, MALTESE: For his part, Maltese wasn't just
sitting on his hands last week and had a big name talent helping his
campaign. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who scored impressively
in Queens in his two mayoral victories, was back in the borough
last week to campaign with Maltese and Councilmember Anthony Como,
both of whom are running for re-election. The former mayor and the
candidates visited senior centers in Republican strongholds Glendale
and Ridgewood. Maltese also announced another endorsement by a police
line organization, the Police Conference of New York (PCNY), which
represents 229 Police Benevolent Association chapters plus eight
regional conferences, for a total of 25,000 officers throughout
the state. Previously, Maltese had been endorsed by the Detectives
Endowment Association and the Bridge and Tunnel Officers' Benevolent
Association. Maltese has also gotten major endorsements from District
Council 37 (DC 37), the 1.1-million-member municipal workers union, the
Public Employees Federation, the Civil Service Employees Association,
and the state AFL-CIO.
However, there are those who object to the notion that there
aren't any other people qualified to lead the city through a
perilous period. Among them are Congressmember Anthony Weiner (D-
Queens/Brooklyn), city Comptroller William Thompson and Councilmember
Tony Avella (D- Bayside), all of whom are Democrats and all of whom
have indicated that they plan to run for mayor even if Bloomberg gets
a chance to run for a third term.
Weprin, who had long planned to run for city comptroller when his
second term ended next year, has led the call for making changes in
the term limits law by referendum only with a citywide vote. His
position is backed by good government groups and others. All feel
that the original term limits law and one other subsequent vote on
the issue were both brought about by the entire city electorate,
so the same method of approval or disapproval must be followed.
Liu said in a statement, "I've never supported term limits. I think
it makes sense to extend them, but not this way by a city council
vote. The term limits were enacted by referendum and confirmed by
another referendum. So if we are going to tinker with this law,
it should go back to the people."
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum also backs Weprin's bill.
Others speaking out on the issue were Councilmembers Peter Vallone
Jr. and James
Gennaro and Comptroller Thompson. Thompson stated: "First and foremost,
the will of the people should not be ignored. I am opposed to any
extension of term limits by legislative fiat. The voters have spoken
twice and any attempt to disregard their voice sends a message that
democracy has
taken a back seat."
On a similar note, Gennaro said, "The issue of extending term limits
has gone to the people twice through public referendum, and any
revisiting of the issue should go back to the people. If brought before
the council, I would go with the will of the people and vote no."
Vallone stated:
"The earthquake that hit Wall St. this week has caused us to consider
new ways to shore up our political foundation. Mayor Bloomberg is a
great choice for the New Yorkers to have during these trying times,
and I will therefore take a serious look at any term limits legislation
that comes across my desk."
DEM BACKERS SHOW UP FOR ADDABBO: As the election calendar showed the
start of the final month of the 2008 campaign, City Councilmember
Joseph Addabbo Jr. turned his campaign for state senator against
incumbent Senator Serphin Maltese up a couple of notches.
At one of his biggest rallies of the campaign, the Ozone Park/Howard
Beach lawmaker was joined by City Comptroller William Thompson,
Congressmember Anthony Weiner and other Democratic Party supporters,
as well as members of several labor unions who have endorsed him
and pledged to hit the pavement for him from now to Election Day on
November 4.
All told, about 300 Addabbo supporters showed up at the Ridgewood
Democratic Club to start the countdown to Election Day. To Addabbo,
the large turnout represented the "people power" component of the
campaign, and when the day ended, the labor union volunteers had
accomplished one of their missions: ringing some 3,000 doorbells to
pass the word about Addabbo's candidacy.
Thompson and Weiner, who both plan to run for mayor next year, gave
pep talks to the energized crowd, both hitting the same theme about
the need for change in Albany.
Addabbo also promised to "deliver for all New Yorkers" and to keep
the pressure on until Election Day.
DIVERSE $UPPORT FOR GENNARO: In the other hot state senate race in the
borough, in which Democrats hope to make inroads against Republican
control of the state senate, Councilmember James Gennaro is challenging
incumbent Senator Frank Padavan in Northeast Queens.
Gennaro reports that he has raised more than $723,000 for his campaign
and has more than $400,000 of that still on hand.
But beyond the numbers, Gennaro emphasizes, "The contributions come
from a diverse array of supporters, including the Asian- American
community, the Jewish community, the environmental community and
progressive activists interested in seeing the Democratic Party take
control of the state senate for the first time in four decades, a
situation that would materialize with just two Democratic victories
in November."
However, Padavan has faced serious challenges in the past and it will
be interesting to see how this one turns out.
GIANARIS SPEAKER AT GREEKAMERICAN OBAMA EVENT: Assemblymember
Michael Gianaris was the special guest speaker at a fundraiser for
the Obama/Biden ticket in New York City attended by more than 100
Greek-American supporters. The Astoria lawmaker, stressing the
importance of political activism for young Hellenes, recounted
how his involvement in the 1988 Michael Dukakis campaign served
as his springboard into political life and his election as
an Assemblymember. He urged those who were present to journey
to battleground states like Pennsylvania and Florida to help
the Obama/Biden team make its final push toward victory in
November. Gianaris also recounted his meeting with Barack Obama
previously at a Chicago fundraiser.
At the September 25 event at the Olympic Tower Atrium Cafe in Manhattan
other guests present were Democratic Party activist Angelo Tsakopoulos;
r. Dean Lomis, former chair of the American Hellenic Institute, and
event host Jeff Kurzon, who is affiliated with Armenians for Obama and
Obama NYC. The fundraiser co-hosts were Dean Sirigus and Olga Alexakos.
CROWLEY HAILS US-INDIA CIVILIAN NUCLEAR PACT: The three-year effort
to forge an agreement between the United States and India to authorize
the transfer of U.S. civilian nuclear technology scaled a major hurdle
when Congress approved the historic link up, Congressmember Joseph
Crowley announced.
Crowley, House Chief Deputy Whip, who supported the agreement
throughout that period both in Congress and in the Indian- American
community which is included in his district, hailed the pact's passage.
"Today's passage of the final agreement is an historic moment, and
the agreement's impending enactment will cement a critical partnership
that I hope will continue for decades," he declared.
Crowley (D- Queens/The Bronx), a member of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee and former chair of the Caucus on India and Indian Americans,
is a key leader on South Asian affairs in Congress. The Elmhurst
lawmaker helped to broker the U.S.- India nuclear pact, which now
goes to the Senate for approval.
REAL GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN: For almost three decades, the Enchanted
Florist & Greenhouse, at 65-10 Grand Ave. in the heart of the Maspeth
shopping district, has been owned and operated by Tony Nunziato.
On a recent Saturday, he temporarily converted part of the shop's large
storefront into campaign headquarters for his run as the Republican
candidate for the 30th Assembly District seat held by Assemblymember
Margaret Markey, the Democratic incumbent.
Nunziato plastered the upper part of the building with large signs
announcing his campaign, and in a news release was just as outspoken
in making renewal of the commuter tax his key issue. Nearly 10 years
ago, the tax on Long Islanders and surburbanites north of the city was
repealed, denying the city $4 billion in revenue each year. Markey,
Nunziato pointed out, was one of the members of the Assembly Democratic
majority that voted to end the tax. Nunziato's name will also be on
the Conservative and Independence Party lines. The district includes
Maspeth, Woodside, and portions of Long Island City, Middle Village,
Astoria and Sunnyside.
Western Queens Gazette
October 8, 2008
NY
Term Limits Issue Turns Into A Real Dogfight
Well, nobody ever said changing the term limits law was going to
be easy.
The mayor is looking for an easy way out by merely letting the City
Council vote on extending limits to 12 years in all, from two to three,
four-year terms for all citywide officials and all councilmembers.
There is, however, strong support among a number of councilmembers
for making the change through a referendum, voted on by the city's
electorate. One of the leaders pushing this proposal is Councilmember
David Weprin (D- Hollis); another is John Liu (D- Flushing).
Other than there being differences on how the change should be made,
still another group of councilmembers doesn't want to change the term
limits law at all.
Besides this, Ronald Lauder and the mayor have differences on changing
term limits. While the mayor is holding out for a permanent change,
Lauder would go along with changing term limits only for the 2009
election, because the economy is so bad generally and particularly
because the city's situation is horrendous. Given these circumstances,
the mayor should remain in office for another term because he's
uniquely qualified to lead the city through these unsettled times.
SENIORS GREET GIULIANI, MALTESE: For his part, Maltese wasn't just
sitting on his hands last week and had a big name talent helping his
campaign. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who scored impressively
in Queens in his two mayoral victories, was back in the borough
last week to campaign with Maltese and Councilmember Anthony Como,
both of whom are running for re-election. The former mayor and the
candidates visited senior centers in Republican strongholds Glendale
and Ridgewood. Maltese also announced another endorsement by a police
line organization, the Police Conference of New York (PCNY), which
represents 229 Police Benevolent Association chapters plus eight
regional conferences, for a total of 25,000 officers throughout
the state. Previously, Maltese had been endorsed by the Detectives
Endowment Association and the Bridge and Tunnel Officers' Benevolent
Association. Maltese has also gotten major endorsements from District
Council 37 (DC 37), the 1.1-million-member municipal workers union, the
Public Employees Federation, the Civil Service Employees Association,
and the state AFL-CIO.
However, there are those who object to the notion that there
aren't any other people qualified to lead the city through a
perilous period. Among them are Congressmember Anthony Weiner (D-
Queens/Brooklyn), city Comptroller William Thompson and Councilmember
Tony Avella (D- Bayside), all of whom are Democrats and all of whom
have indicated that they plan to run for mayor even if Bloomberg gets
a chance to run for a third term.
Weprin, who had long planned to run for city comptroller when his
second term ended next year, has led the call for making changes in
the term limits law by referendum only with a citywide vote. His
position is backed by good government groups and others. All feel
that the original term limits law and one other subsequent vote on
the issue were both brought about by the entire city electorate,
so the same method of approval or disapproval must be followed.
Liu said in a statement, "I've never supported term limits. I think
it makes sense to extend them, but not this way by a city council
vote. The term limits were enacted by referendum and confirmed by
another referendum. So if we are going to tinker with this law,
it should go back to the people."
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum also backs Weprin's bill.
Others speaking out on the issue were Councilmembers Peter Vallone
Jr. and James
Gennaro and Comptroller Thompson. Thompson stated: "First and foremost,
the will of the people should not be ignored. I am opposed to any
extension of term limits by legislative fiat. The voters have spoken
twice and any attempt to disregard their voice sends a message that
democracy has
taken a back seat."
On a similar note, Gennaro said, "The issue of extending term limits
has gone to the people twice through public referendum, and any
revisiting of the issue should go back to the people. If brought before
the council, I would go with the will of the people and vote no."
Vallone stated:
"The earthquake that hit Wall St. this week has caused us to consider
new ways to shore up our political foundation. Mayor Bloomberg is a
great choice for the New Yorkers to have during these trying times,
and I will therefore take a serious look at any term limits legislation
that comes across my desk."
DEM BACKERS SHOW UP FOR ADDABBO: As the election calendar showed the
start of the final month of the 2008 campaign, City Councilmember
Joseph Addabbo Jr. turned his campaign for state senator against
incumbent Senator Serphin Maltese up a couple of notches.
At one of his biggest rallies of the campaign, the Ozone Park/Howard
Beach lawmaker was joined by City Comptroller William Thompson,
Congressmember Anthony Weiner and other Democratic Party supporters,
as well as members of several labor unions who have endorsed him
and pledged to hit the pavement for him from now to Election Day on
November 4.
All told, about 300 Addabbo supporters showed up at the Ridgewood
Democratic Club to start the countdown to Election Day. To Addabbo,
the large turnout represented the "people power" component of the
campaign, and when the day ended, the labor union volunteers had
accomplished one of their missions: ringing some 3,000 doorbells to
pass the word about Addabbo's candidacy.
Thompson and Weiner, who both plan to run for mayor next year, gave
pep talks to the energized crowd, both hitting the same theme about
the need for change in Albany.
Addabbo also promised to "deliver for all New Yorkers" and to keep
the pressure on until Election Day.
DIVERSE $UPPORT FOR GENNARO: In the other hot state senate race in the
borough, in which Democrats hope to make inroads against Republican
control of the state senate, Councilmember James Gennaro is challenging
incumbent Senator Frank Padavan in Northeast Queens.
Gennaro reports that he has raised more than $723,000 for his campaign
and has more than $400,000 of that still on hand.
But beyond the numbers, Gennaro emphasizes, "The contributions come
from a diverse array of supporters, including the Asian- American
community, the Jewish community, the environmental community and
progressive activists interested in seeing the Democratic Party take
control of the state senate for the first time in four decades, a
situation that would materialize with just two Democratic victories
in November."
However, Padavan has faced serious challenges in the past and it will
be interesting to see how this one turns out.
GIANARIS SPEAKER AT GREEKAMERICAN OBAMA EVENT: Assemblymember
Michael Gianaris was the special guest speaker at a fundraiser for
the Obama/Biden ticket in New York City attended by more than 100
Greek-American supporters. The Astoria lawmaker, stressing the
importance of political activism for young Hellenes, recounted
how his involvement in the 1988 Michael Dukakis campaign served
as his springboard into political life and his election as
an Assemblymember. He urged those who were present to journey
to battleground states like Pennsylvania and Florida to help
the Obama/Biden team make its final push toward victory in
November. Gianaris also recounted his meeting with Barack Obama
previously at a Chicago fundraiser.
At the September 25 event at the Olympic Tower Atrium Cafe in Manhattan
other guests present were Democratic Party activist Angelo Tsakopoulos;
r. Dean Lomis, former chair of the American Hellenic Institute, and
event host Jeff Kurzon, who is affiliated with Armenians for Obama and
Obama NYC. The fundraiser co-hosts were Dean Sirigus and Olga Alexakos.
CROWLEY HAILS US-INDIA CIVILIAN NUCLEAR PACT: The three-year effort
to forge an agreement between the United States and India to authorize
the transfer of U.S. civilian nuclear technology scaled a major hurdle
when Congress approved the historic link up, Congressmember Joseph
Crowley announced.
Crowley, House Chief Deputy Whip, who supported the agreement
throughout that period both in Congress and in the Indian- American
community which is included in his district, hailed the pact's passage.
"Today's passage of the final agreement is an historic moment, and
the agreement's impending enactment will cement a critical partnership
that I hope will continue for decades," he declared.
Crowley (D- Queens/The Bronx), a member of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee and former chair of the Caucus on India and Indian Americans,
is a key leader on South Asian affairs in Congress. The Elmhurst
lawmaker helped to broker the U.S.- India nuclear pact, which now
goes to the Senate for approval.
REAL GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN: For almost three decades, the Enchanted
Florist & Greenhouse, at 65-10 Grand Ave. in the heart of the Maspeth
shopping district, has been owned and operated by Tony Nunziato.
On a recent Saturday, he temporarily converted part of the shop's large
storefront into campaign headquarters for his run as the Republican
candidate for the 30th Assembly District seat held by Assemblymember
Margaret Markey, the Democratic incumbent.
Nunziato plastered the upper part of the building with large signs
announcing his campaign, and in a news release was just as outspoken
in making renewal of the commuter tax his key issue. Nearly 10 years
ago, the tax on Long Islanders and surburbanites north of the city was
repealed, denying the city $4 billion in revenue each year. Markey,
Nunziato pointed out, was one of the members of the Assembly Democratic
majority that voted to end the tax. Nunziato's name will also be on
the Conservative and Independence Party lines. The district includes
Maspeth, Woodside, and portions of Long Island City, Middle Village,
Astoria and Sunnyside.