Mike Bloomberg should run for City Council

Mike Bloomberg should run for City Council
Thursday, October 2nd 2008, 2:40 AM

Why doesn't he just run for City Council?
Really. No joke.
The Council has the final say on the budget, and he would be a shoo-in for speaker. Any invaluable and irreplaceable fiscal guidance Mayor Bloomberg might offer in this financial crisis could just as easily come from Speaker Bloomberg.
Guidance from Speaker Bloomberg would not be muddied by him going against term limits set by the electorate, limits he ardently supported until he neared one.
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If he finds the prospect of becoming a councilman too humbling, he can tell himself he is only following the example set long ago on the federal level by John Quincy Adams.
Our sixth President, Adams went from the White House to the House of Representatives, where he served for 17 years, becoming the leading foe of slavery.
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"No person can be degraded by serving the people as representative in Congress," Adams once declared.
Before an assassin struck, John F. Kennedy said that upon reaching the two-term limit set for Presidents, he would follow Adams' example and be a congressman from Massachusetts.
Kennedy ascribed to Adams' view that any respected former chief executive who became a duly elected member of a legislative body "instead of degrading the individual would elevate the representative character." Bloomberg's stature would elevate the office of speaker, and the entire Council. A new mayor would be hard-pressed to ignore fiscal advice from Speaker Bloomberg.
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Adams should be a particular inspiration for Bloomberg, who has long decried partisan politics. Adams considered political parties a curse, believing government should follow the best interests of the governed.
As mayor, Bloomberg has worked against political self-interest in favor of the larger good, notably the smoking ban, which will save tens of thousands of lives.
The city is much better off as a result of Bloomberg's tenure as mayor. He is far superior to any of his would-be successors, who are more reminiscent of that other Addams family, the one created by a dark-humored cartoonist.
Bloomberg was particularly astute and steadying when the fiscal crisis struck, having shown foresight - a rare facility among present-day politicians.
Anyone who needed a reminder yesterday of how vital he remains only had to take a stroll from City Hall down through the Financial District.
The Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank, the AIG building - the very pavement seemed shaken. Tourists were taking snapshots of the big bull that now seems less a symbol than a relic at a time we need the financial wisdom and foresight of Bloomberg more than ever.
Beyond the end of Broadway was the harbor, and there stood a figure that remains a symbol of what makes us great no matter what the markets do, a symbol that humbles even the mightiest among us. As in all times of adversity, the Statue of Liberty seemed to stand even straighter, her torch shining even brighter.
At the core of the freedom and democracy she symbolizes is respect for the will of the people as expressed by voting.
The people of our city have voted twice on term limits, first in favor of establishing them, later against scrapping them.
If the people want them done away with, the way to do it is by popular ballot, not through a Council vote by members who will also be extending their jobs.
Such a hustle would demean the Council, just as Bloomberg would elevate it by joining its ranks.
Mike for City Council! From ---nydailynews 10-23-08