Bloomberg Thinking Of Term Limiting Term Limits

Perhaps with all of Michael Bloomberg's media experience and the last few years in the political realm, he is getting good at throwing curveballs out on a whole range of issues. His temper needs work, but when it comes to thinking about his stay in Gracie Mansion, this is the work of a pro (unfortunately so for New Yorkers that have lived under his reign for the last eight years).

From The Daily Gotham:

Oh boy. As the end of his term nears, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his senior advisers have been exploring strategies that would allow him to remain in political life, including undertaking a campaign to overturn the city's term limits law or making a bid for governor, according to two people who have been briefed on the deliberations. Mr. Bloomberg, as part of that effort, commissioned a poll recently to determine whether city voters would be open to lifting the term limits law, which forces him and other elected city officials from office after two four-year terms. The poll found that even as voters approved of his performance as mayor, they would strongly oppose any attempt to undo the limits. Voters were receptive to the idea of a Bloomberg candidacy for governor, however. Either move by the mayor would dramatically shake up the political world in New York and beyond, given his national profile and previous pledge to try to shape the presidential campaign this fall, perhaps by establishing an independent political organization. [Emph. added] Two things: first, you really have to wonder what the outcome would be if there were a statewide referendum on term limits. Such as, say, term limits applicable to the state legislature. The rock-solid support for such limits in the City most likely is not confined to the five boroughs. If two terms and eight years were good enough for George Washington, why aren't they sufficient for Sheldon Silver and Joe Bruno, in office for thirty-two years, or Joe Lentol, at thirty-six?

I don't even want to imagine an eternal back and forth between Silver and Bloomberg. That sounds like a nightmare and antithetical for reforming politics in New York. Bloomie may have his high hopes and ambitions, but no polling effort is going to give him everything he desires. Didn't he learn his lesson the first and second time around? New York City needs a progressive voice after too many years of a technocrat.