Skip to main content

Featured Post

Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park infographics: what's built/what's coming/what's missing, who's responsible, + project FAQ/timeline (pinned post)

As vote to overturn term limits approaches Thursday, Yassky's indecision is glaring

(Update Wednesday 4:40 pm: Yassky supports an amendment to the pending bill that would require a referendum.)

The New York Times reported last week on City Council Member David Yassky's indecision on term limits:
Indeed, in an interview on Wednesday morning, Mr. Yassky repeated his longstanding opposition to changing the term limits law without taking the matter to the voters who approved it in two public referendums.

“I think that clearly, the better way to change term limits is by referendum,” he said. “I have no doubt that it’s the better way to accomplish this.”

Then why does Mr. Yassky, who has been part of the progressive faction in Brooklyn politics, place himself in the category of the undecided council members?

For one thing, he said, Mr. Bloomberg remains highly popular in the district and many voters are eager to have some degree of stability in local government in a period of economic turbulence.


Given the overwhelming sentiment expressed in a Quinnipiac Poll held after his interview, that 89% of those polled think that voters should decide whether to override term limits, with only 7% agreeing the City Council should do it, shouldn't Yassky make a decision and defend it?

He's among the 16 Council Members who haven't taken a stand; Council Speaker Christine Quinn, according to the Times, thinks she has enough of those uncommitted members to pass a bill extending term limits on Thursday.

Comments