Online petitions rarely make an impact on politicians like George Bush and Dick Cheney, even if they have half a million names on it protesting one illegal action or another. New Yorkers for Term Limits went ahead anyway with one of their own to target local City Councilman Oliver Koppell, who is vociferously trying to allow two-thirds of the City Council to run for re-election again, including himself. Many New Yorkers are pissed off at his and others attempt at changing the will of the voters that enacted the two-term limit on elected offices in the city and now is the time to act, or more appropriately, react. Here's why the ire is directed at Oliver's way.
From The Daily Politics:
New Yorkers for Term Limits sent the e-mail that appears below to some 11,000 people in Councilman Oliver Koppell's Bronx district earlier this week, directing recipients to "please tell Koppell to keep his hands off New York's Term Limits Law!"
Koppell isn't the only person advocating for the extention of term limits. But he is the driving force (aside from Mayor Bloomberg, that is) behind the effort and has asked for a bill to be drafted that would extend the current limit of two four-year terms to three.
Nelson Warfield, a media consultant to New Yorkers for Term Limits, said the effort is limited to the e-mails at the moment, but the councilman "can expect more." As to why Koppell is being targeted, Warfield said:
"It's like Ground Hog Day, everybody pays attention to the first rodent to stick his head out of the ground."
Mr. Warfield is to be commended for his choice of words. While Albany has their bloodsuckers, the city has its share of rodents, whether they work at City Hall or below it.
Here's Liz's photo of the email, but you can simply write to Koppell or call his office at 212-788-7078 to tell him what you think of his attempt to subvert the will of the voters. Since Koppell's term is up next year and he has to serve his own self-interest, he's skipping the opportunity to put the issue to a vote in a city-wide election. So while's he's busy maneuvering to get this passed while trying not to make Bloomberg look like an ass in the process (he needs the Mayoral seal of approval ya know?), lets make sure we keep his office tied up as much as possible.
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