From the NYT:
One whiz, Anthony W. Crowell, the mayor’s counselor, went beyond legalisms. He trivialized the two plebiscites in the 1990s that established a two-term limit for major-office holders.
To underline how unimportant the mayor considered them, Mr. Crowell noted that the 586,890 people who formed the majority in a 1996 referendum represented a trifling 17 percent of all registered voters in the city. Others in the Bloomberg administration invoke a different standard. Term limits, they say, had support at the polls from only 1 of every 15 city residents.
O.K., then what is one to make of the 557,059 votes that Mr. Bloomberg received on Tuesday to win his coveted third term? They amount to a mere 13 percent of registered voters. The 1-in-15 standard for all residents also applies.
Might I add that the narrow 5% margin of victory cost $200 per vote for the well-known, incumbent figure with all kinds of institutional privileges and connections.
Tags: bloomberg, bloomberg ekes out narrow victory, christine quinn, ny city council, ny politics, ny politics is a joke, ny voters, ny voters don't vote, nyc mayoral race, nyc term limits, self-interested city council
