Results tagged “oliverkoppell”

In order to counter an expected bill from Oliver Koppell to extend term limits, Councilman David Weprin says that he will introduce legislation that only a referendum by voters should change the city's term limits law. Weprin, like Koppell, is among the majority of Council members that will be forced out of office next year, but plans to run for city comptroller. Koppell calls Weprin's proposal “a largely cosmetic attempt at publicity.” While Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Christine Quinn have remained relatively mum as developments in the term limits saga have continued to unfold in recent weeks, yesterday former Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Mark Green wrote an op-ed for the Daily News calling his allowance of Mayor Giuliani to stay in office for 90 days following 9/11 "a mistake" and wonders why Bloomberg is "imitating Giuliani" in his play to stay in power for four more years.

A new detail has come out that may influence the ongoing term limits debate. If term limits are extended from eight to twelve years as is being currently discussed, city council members would be guaranteeing their retirement health insurance, which kicks in after someone has worked for the city for ten years. That lifetime retiree health insurance costs up to $12,600 a year, theoretically putting the entire cost of over $200k each for the city to insure the family of its council members and their staffs. Most council members spoken to by the NY Times denied that the benefits had any bearing on their term limits stance and many have already qualified for it with other city jobs. But that still didn't refrain the councilman likely to propose the term limits extension bill Oliver Koppell from saying that it "might be a good selling point" for council members. Meanwhile city comptroller and likely mayoral candidate William Thompson spoke out against the connection saying, “There is just too much self-interest involved. And this would add to that perception.”

Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell has taken the next (baby) step towards repealing the city's term limit laws, promising to introduce a bill proposing to extend them within weeks. Previously the Council were waiting for Mayor Bloomberg to confirm he would sign such a bill into law. But Koppell is ready to take the lead in extending the eight-year limit to twelve; he tells City Room that limits “cut off people’s careers in politics, which makes no sense.” He would like to see Speaker (and potential mayoral candidate) Christine Quinn introduce the bill, but says he will go forward with it if she does not. The Council would then have sixty days to decide whether to send the bill forward to the mayor, but Koppell claims such a bill could pass through Council "within twenty-four hours."