Statement From State Senator Kevin Parker On City Council Term Limits Vote Minority Whip Of The New York State Senate

“It is nothing short of a moral outrage that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council have been able to make a mockery of democracy with today’s vote on term limits. A change in term limits by legislative action is a bad policy that overturns the will of the people. Therefore, I stand in full support of offering an amendment to the Mayor's term limits bill. The term limits issues should be decided by a voter referendum and not by City Council legislation. The voters of New York City exercised their franchise twice previously in 1993 and 1996 and sent a clear message that they were in favor of term limits. It is critically important that voters trust that when they vote on an issue, it matters. To take this issue out of their hands as was done today, creates an atmosphere of cynicism in the political process at a time when we can least afford it.”