support from billionaires Murdoch and Zuckerman and swung a deal with erstwhile term-limits proponent, billionaire Ronald Lauder, faces the threat from the potentially uncooperative billionaire Tom Golisano.
I'm betting a billion or so that Bloomberg will make him an offer he can't refuse.
So, is this where we're headed? Government of, by and for the billionaires?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/nyregion/09termlimits.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rssThird-Term Plan Gains One Billionaire, but May Lose Another
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and MICHAEL BARBARO
Published: October 8, 2008
Even as the cosmetics heir Ronald S. Lauder agreed to drop his opposition to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to extend term limits and run for re-election, another politically inclined mogul signaled that he may fight the mayor’s move.
Leave a Comment on City Room Councilman Bill de Blasio, who has emerged as a leading opponent to the term limits extension, flew to a hastily arranged meeting outside Rochester with Tom Golisano, the billionaire owner of the Buffalo Sabres and a major political and philanthropic force in western New York.
The two men spoke for two hours, with Mr. de Blasio outlining his concerns that the maneuver planned by Mr. Bloomberg would undo the will of the voters, who have twice approved term limits. Mr. Golisano, who has put term limits and campaign finance reform at the center of his political efforts in New York State, listened and appeared interested in affecting the debate, said Steven Pigeon, an adviser to Mr. Golisano who attended the meeting.
“Tom is very interested and has concerns,” Mr. Pigeon said.
He added: “He hasn’t made any final decisions. But he’s going to consider it and thinks this is a very important issue.”
Mr. Pigeon said Mr. Golisano would decide in the coming days whether to get involved.
The potential involvement of Mr. Golisano could be crucial because even fervent opponents of Mr. Bloomberg’s plans seem somewhat daunted by the mayor’s deep pockets and demonstrated willingness to spend from them in pursuit of his political goals. That dynamic, in part, is what elevated Mr. Lauder’s importance in the continuing political drama.
But Mr. Golisano’s pockets are, for practical purposes, as deep as Mr. Bloomberg’s. And he is already shadowboxing with Mr. Bloomberg on another front. Earlier this year, Mr. Golisano — who has run for governor, unsuccessfully, three times — promised to spend $5 million on state legislative races, with much of that money going since to Democratic Senate candidates. Mr. Bloomberg, by contrast, has been a major patron of Senate Republicans.
In an interview late Wednesday as he prepared to fly back to New York, Mr. de Blasio was optimistic, and said that while a coalition of groups was already organizing to battle Mr. Bloomberg’s proposal, Mr. Golisano’s support would be extremely welcome.
Stilll, the landscape is complicated, and Mr. Bloomberg’s proposal has attracted backing from some key council members. Speaker Christine C. Quinn has already signaled that she may abandon her earlier opposition to altering term limits and support the mayor’s plan.
Under current law, approved twice by voters, Mr. Bloomberg and dozens of elected officials in the city must leave office next year, after completing two four-year terms. So the mayor has proposed legislation in the City Council that would allow officials to remain in office for 12 years, instead of the current 8.
Mr. Lauder, who led the movement to enact term limits in 1993, agreed to back the Bloomberg plan after an hourlong meeting with the mayor at Gracie Mansion on Wednesday afternoon.
In exchange for supporting Mr. Bloomberg’s third-term plan, Mr. Lauder will be appointed next year to a charter revision commission with the authority to return the law to the eight-year limit, Mr. Lauder said in a statement.
Mr. Lauder’s acceptance of that agreement led to immediate criticism. “This deal announced from Gracie Mansion today would trade one appointment for the right of all New Yorkers to vote,” said Representative Anthony D. Weiner, a candidate for mayor next year, who held a news conference on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday.
In Albany on Wednesday, opposition to Mr. Bloomberg’s proposal began to take a more organized form in the State Legislature. Two Brooklyn Democrats, State Senator Kevin S. Parker and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, said they planned to introduce legislation to prevent the mayor from revising the term limits law without a voter referendum.
The Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, has already expressed support for the idea of holding a public vote before any changes are made to term limits. The speaker’s chief spokesman, Dan Weiller, declined on Wednesday to say whether Mr. Silver would support the specific bill proposed by Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Parker, but said that Mr. Silver would be taking the pulse of his members.
“He has said that in New York City the voters chose term limits by referendum, rejected changes to term limits by referendum, and that it’s appropriate to go back to the voters if there’s a plan to lift term limits,” Mr. Weiller said.
Of course, the bill may not gain traction in the Republican-led State Senate, which has traditionally been close to Mr. Bloomberg.
Mr. Jeffries said the bill was necessary to prevent what he called a trampling of the democratic process. He said that six colleagues had agreed to co-sponsor the legislation, which would apply to any city across the state that has term limits.
“This issue is fundamentally about the integrity of our democracy,” Mr. Jeffries said, and added a reference to the president of Venezuela: “Even Hugo Chávez held a referendum. It seems to me reasonable that we can conduct a referendum in the city.”
Jeremy W. Peters contributed reporting.
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