There was plenty to be grateful for during Thanksgiving (and every day of course) but a working City Council in New York City is not one of them. In a lengthy report the Staten Island Advance has found that the legislature in our city is divided and broken over the term limits fiasco. Not only were things heated between members of the Council last month, but continuing even today with the budget battle looming.
From The S.I. Advance:
In the aftermath of the most divisive battle in recent City Hall history, many members of the City Council who spoke with the Advance said they find it difficult, if not impossible, to trust some of their colleagues. A few even described the institution itself as broken -- that now, more than ever, people seem to be just going through the motions.
The question is, how will that affect the way they work together? Over the next few months, while they negotiate with Bloomberg to finalize a plan to chop hundreds of millions of dollars from spending in this year's budget and even more from the budget for the next fiscal year, will the tough choices they make represent the best choices for the people of this city -- or the deals brokered simply for political advantage?
Brokered deals bred out of ethically-challenged, smoke-filled rooms? In our Council?!? Can I make sarcasm drip out of your monitor on this one? Seriously though, we have long known about how City Hall works and the fact that the term limits extension bill passed is a testament to just how broken it is. What makes me hopeful (to a degree) with all of this mess is that there are actually Council Members that realize how flawed the system is, particularly the ones that voted against the Mayor's undemocratic 845A legislation and that heads must roll for it.
As the Advance notes, Tony Avella and others understand that those that voted for selfish reasons need to be voted out of office. Now that we know what's going on, it is time to act. Every single Council Member must join the thousands of New Yorkers who demand change from their government. We must work together to find challengers to the Bloomberg 29 and work as hard as we can to get competent people into the chamber who will represent their constituents for a change and not the whims of an egotistical plutocrat such as Michael Bloomberg.
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