Text Size

Email Post

Print Post

Comments (6)

Save Article

New York, NY - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg rolled out a roster of longtime loyalists, educators, political operatives and community leaders to serve on a 15-member charter review commission that is expected to alter the city’s term limits law.

The charter commission is the fourth that Mr. Bloomberg has appointed, but the first since 2004. The chairman will be Matthew Goldstein, chancellor of the City University of New York, and the panel includes Mr. Bloomberg’s City Hall counsel, Anthony Crowell, who has worked on previous commissions.

Several appointees already sit on other city commissions, including Angela Mariana Freyre, a member of the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board; Betty Y. Chen, a member of the city’s planning commission; and Katheryn C. Patterson, a member of the city’s Campaign Finance Board.

Other panel members include Carlo A. Scissura, chief of staff to the Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz; Ernest F. Hart, chairman of the Civilian Complaint Review Board and a former top aide to Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott; and John H. Banks III, who was a chief of staff to a former City Council speaker, Peter F. Vallone Sr.

An executive director will be named later, said Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg.

In an interview, Mr. Goldstein said Mr. Bloomberg had asked him to perform a “real thorough up-and-down” look at city governance. He said that he envisioned that the commission’s work would probably last until 2011, but that a few recommendations would be made early enough that they could be placed on the November ballot.

“Certainly term limits will be something we will consider,” he said, “but beyond that, I don’t want to speculate.”

One person who is not on the commission is Ronald S. Lauder, the cosmetics heir and billionaire who in 2008 begrudgingly agreed not to oppose a City Council bill that enabled the mayor to seek a third term. In exchange, he was to have been included on a panel revisiting the issue of term limits.

The panel will include Kenneth M. Moltner, a lawyer who has been active in the term limits movement.

More of today's headlines

“Brooklyn, NY - A suspicious white powder sent to a Brooklyn judge Thursday forced the evacuation of the 24th floor of the Supreme Court building. The powder, which is...” Brooklyn, NY - Suspicious White Powder Sent to Judge Forces Evacuation “Barcelona, Spain – The Mediterranean was heaving as the 68-year-old Italian stood in the cruise ship lounge. A moment later a monstrous wave shattered the windows and...” Barcelona, Spain - Amateur Video Taken Aboard a Cruise Ship Showing Of Massive Wave That Killed 2