New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued the following statement after an appeal was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today challenging last week’s court ruling upholding the actions of the Mayor and City Council to give themselves the chance to seek a third term in office:

“I am confident that, upon appeal, the Court of Appeals will uphold our claims and nullify the Mayor’s and City Council’s self-serving and improper attempt to extend term limits and ignore the will of the people. While the district court judge acknowledged that the law extending term limits “has the plausible effect of causing” voters “to refrain from speaking,” he incredibly accepted the City’s unsupported argument that there were legitimate interests justifying the Mayor’s and City Council’s self-serving act. The judge also improperly found that state law does not require a referendum in order to alter term limits. I expect that the appellate court will uphold what the voters have twice decided: that their elected officials should serve two terms and no more.”

Last November, Mayor Bloomberg signed Introduction 845-A, extending term limits for city elected officials from two to three four-year terms. In response, on November 10, 2008, a number of plaintiffs, including Comptroller Thompson and Councilmembers Leititia James and Bill de Blasio, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that voters have a constitutional right to vote on the extension of term limits.

# # #