Old feuds and sore feelings between local elected officials and some of their constituents have taken on new significance now that the push to overturn term limits is in full swing.
Last week City Hall entertained marathon public hearings throughout the day and night in an effort to accommodate all the people determined to go on record about the future of term limits in New York City.
In the relatively small confines of Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay, those opinions are no less passionate.
“I think it’s time for fresh blood,” Manhattan Beach Community Group (MBCG) President Ira Zalcman said. “It’s enough already. They all knew what they were getting into.”
Rival Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association (MBNA) spokesperson Edmond Dweck took an opposing view.
“If the whiners of the world are afraid of politicians serving for more than two terms, then let them vote and see how we all feel about that person,” he said. “If someone is doing a good job, they should continue to serve. If they are not, then they will be voted out.”
When the Bay News last contacted local Councilmember Mike Nelson, he said he wasn’t sure if he would even run again given the opportunity – but he still liked the idea of a third term.
“I would like to see it at least one more term, as self-serving as it sounds,” Nelson said. “I really believe that it’s bad for the city when you have seasoned and experienced legislators and they have to leave in so short a period of time.”
Earlier this year, Nelson put himself in the untenable position of appearing to have chosen sides in the ongoing MBCG/MBNA feud.
The councilman has since buried the hatchet with members of the MBCG after some very heated public exchanges between the two parties.
Despite two prior referendums in which the public voiced its support for a two-term cap on the mayor and members of the City Council, Nelson believes that a three-term limit is palatable to voters, while pointing out that term limits do not apply to members of the New York State Assembly or U.S. Congress.
“Who the heck would want to lose people like [Senator] Chuck Schumer and [Congressman] Anthony Weiner or a [State Senator] Carl Kruger?” Nelson said. “It would be a shame.”
Brooklyn Rep. Nydia Velázquez – the first Hispanic woman to serve in the New York City Council – argued against extending term limits at City Hall last week in part because she said they would negatively impact minority communities.
“Our increasingly diverse minority population is already underrepresented in government,” Velázquez said. “If term limits are to be extended, there would be less turnover and, consequently, even fewer opportunities to reflect our changing demographics.”
While not a fellow Democrat, Nelson supports extending Mike Bloomberg’s mayoral term – along with the terms of sitting City Council members.
“I would like to see this guy remain,” Nelson said. “In light of some of the cast of players I think we’ll do a great job.”
Voters like Zalcman remain unconvinced.
“In the words of Charles de Gaulle, ‘the cemetery is filled with indispensable men,’” he said. “I think we can survive without Bloomberg. The city will go on.”
Gene Berardelli of the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association echoed that sentiment from the other side of the bay.
“This city has survived fiscal panics, terrorist attacks, out-of-control crime, riots and more in its history, and it will continue to do so with or without this current slate of elected officials,” he said. “Arguing that extending term limits is for the public good is futile in the face of the benefits these officials will be giving themselves.”
Dweck, too – who opposes term limits – believes voters should make the decision.
“In the case of the NYC Term Limits Revision proposal, I feel that the choice belongs to the people,” he said. “I would eliminate term limits altogether and allow the people to vote if a councilman or mayor should be re-elected, not based on terms but on performance.”
