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The New York City Council is a legislative body currently consisting of 51 members.
Members are normally elected every four years, with each member representing a
district of approximately 139,000 people. The Council and the Mayor of New York
City share equal responsibility for governing the city. The City Council oversees
the operation and performance of city agencies, analyzes and approves the city's
budget, and wields decision-making powers over major land-use issues. It is the
city's lawmaking body.
The majority of the City Council's work is done by committee. Members serve on
at least 3 committees, which meet once a month or more. The Council Speaker, who
is also the Majority Leader, is elected by the general Council body, and is responsible
for achieving a consensus on major issues.
Campaign Finance Reform
New York City's Campaign Finance Program provides qualified candidates for City
Council with public matching funds. Candidates who agree to participate in the
voluntary program must abide by the Campaign Finance Board's strictly enforced
contribution and spending limits in order to receive these funds. Under the program's
new rules,
each candidate is eligible to receive 4 dollars in public funds for every dollar
that an individual contributes up to $250, allowing a maximum of $1,000 per contributor.
(The old rules allowed 1 dollar in matching funds for every 1 dollar raised in
contributions of up to $1,000 -- the new formula is designed to help candidates
obtain local grassroots support.)
The contribution limits are designed to reduce the opportunity for campaign contributors
to buy influence with candidates and limit the overall effects of money in the
electoral process. Spending limits are also imposed in order to help level the
political playing field.
To qualify for these funds, candidates must prove that they have adequate support
from the public. Candidates do this by meeting a threshold that sets a minimum
amount of money that must be raised as well as a minimum number of contributors
to the campaign.
If a candidate runs against a high-spending opponent not taking part in the Campaign
Finance Program -- who is therefore not bound by the Program's contribution and
spending limits -- they receive additional public funds at an accelerated rate,
and their spending limit is waived.
The program's goals are to make candidates more responsive to their constituents,
rather than specific corporate or other special interests, and to help candidates
who might otherwise lack the financial means to run a political campaign, thereby
leveling the political playing field. All candidates taking part in the program
agree to full public disclosure of their campaign finances.
Term Limits
In the late 1980s and early '90s, term limit referendums for elected officeholders
became commonplace in state and local municipalities across the United States.
Most of these initiatives passed easily. Still, many elected officials and good
government organizations strongly oppose term limits, believing that they will
ultimately lead to inexperienced legislators and officials who will not have had
the time to gain extensive experience before assuming positions of authority.
New York City jumped into the fray nearly a decade ago. The advocacy group New
Yorkers for Term Limits took advantage of a two-stage petition process authorized
by the New York City Charter to get term limits on the ballot in 1993. Fought
at every turn by many local officials, the group eventually went to court and
won the right to put the measure before voters.
The ballot initiative asked voters if all elected officials in New York City should
be limited to two consecutive terms in office. These officials included the mayor,
borough president, and City Council members. The initiative passed with 59% of
the vote.
The November 2001 election was the first to experience the full effect of the
new term limit law, with 37 of the 51 City Council members ineligible to run for
re-election. Term limits produced the greatest turnover in the City Council's
history, paving the way for the most diverse slate of candidates ever to run for
the office.
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