First post!
October 2nd, 2008
Welcome to the Forum on Local Government Law Blog (or the FLoG Blog!). This will be a space where law students interested in local government issues can post thoughts.
So, the big news in local government law today is Mayor Bloomberg’s announcement that he would run for a third term if the City Council changed term limits:
From the legal perspective, one interesting thing going on here is the City Council’s ability to amend its own charter with a majority vote even in the face contradictory voter-passed referendums.
More interesting, I think, is the question about what this says about politics in New York City. New York City is a place that has been constantly torn between the sometimes competing norms of getting things done and maintaining democratic accountability (see Robert Moses). Given this history, are voters more or less likely to elect Bloomberg again?
Some have seen this move as enhancing democratic choice (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/opinion/01wed2.html). Is this how voters will see it?
