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NEW YORK (WABC) -- The City Council has passed the bill on term limits, clearing the way for Mayor Bloomberg to run for a third term in 2009.
The council voted 29-22 in favor of the vote. (CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW THEY VOTED)
The law needed 26 votes to pass.
The council debate began with an impassioned plea from Council Speaker Christine Quinn. She spoke directly to opponents who called the vote "a sham" and "a perversion of democracy."
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"Opponents of this bill may categorize it as some sort of backroom deal. That is, quite frankly, ludicrous," Quinn said.
Before the vote on term limits, council considered an amendment to let voters decide.
"My feeling on this is bring the people in. Open up the doors to government and truly be the reformers," Councilman Vincent Ignizio argued.
One councilmember argued if Hugo Chavez can accept the will of Venezuelans, why can't Michael Bloomberg listen to New Yorkers?
"Mayor Bloomberg, be like Hugo and let the people decide," Charles Barron said.
The last-minute proposal was defeated. It would have begun the process to hold a special election next year.
Bloomberg had argued that times are so tough and the economy so precarious that New York needs his steady hand for another term.
New Yorkers packed council chambers for the debate and vote. Many of them who voted for term limits twice before in the 1990s. They filled the balcony, but most of them said apart from their signs reading "vote no" and "yes we can," their voices were not heard.
"I'm a lawyer. I'm a sportsman. I play sports. You don't change the rules in the middle of the game. It's unsportsman like," Erik Jacobs said.
One voter from Staten Island waited eight-and-a-half hours to testify at last week's hearings on term limits, but never got the chance. She did not like what she saw on Thursday.
"There are people who came here whose parents were immigrants that came for a right to have a say in their government. When we vote, we believe we have that say. What they are doing today is telling us that our vote does not count," Gloria Smith said.
Legally, city council can extend term limits without voter approval. Regardless, opponents are planning to file lawsuits over Thursday's vote.

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STORY BY: Dave Evans

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