KING BLOOMBERG

Statement of Rafael Martinez Alequin
Against the extension of Term Limits
Blue Room City Hall-November 3,2008

Good Morning Mr. Mayor :

I am here as a proud New Yorker. In 1993 and in 1996 the voters of this great city in a referendum voted that members of the City Council, the borough presidents, the public advocate, the comptroller and the mayor should not serve more than eight years. Both you, and the 29 Council Members who approved to extend term limits by four more years, in essence, told New Yorkers that their vote didn’t count. By the action of the City Council vote and your approval, it will make this great city to look to the rest of the world, worse than a banana republic.

Mr. mayor, even today, you have an opportunity to eradicate the stain that will will be forever on your mayoralty.

During your tenure as the executive of this city, you have accomplished a lot and much more than the previous mayor. My humble opinion is that one of your major accomplishments is that when you took the oath of office this city—New York was extremely divided along ethnic and racial lines. You created a different mood in the city. Today, New Yorkers are getting along, getting along much better than they have in a very long time. Now, that is not to say that there are no bigots among us.

In ancient times, I must point out, history tell us that a prophet walked the streets of Jerusalem—naked. His nakedness, as we all learned, symbolized the nakedness of the politics of the day. Can you imagine 90% of New Yorkers who want a referendum on term limits, walking the City’s Street Naked ?

That is the betrayal portrait of you and the 29 Council Members who voted to support this extension. Please, Mr. Mayor, do a service to the millions of New Yorkers with us now and, those yet to be born, to do the right thing and, veto this anti-democratic legislation. I thank you.

However, at 2 :00 pm Mayor Bloomberg didn’t listen to the numerous speakers who opposed the extension. He signed the legislature.