It recently occurred to me that if we had a "Clean Elections" system in place in NYC already, the term limits extension would probably have failed.

Under the bill (Intro 803-2008), participating candidates would not be allowed to begin fundraising until December 1. Since the bill was passed on October 23 and signed on November 3, nobody would have started yet. With the [very predictable] uproar following the vote (see "Bloomberg 29"), a lot of people could have raised all the $5 contributions they needed to get public funding -- and a lot of incumbents who voted to extend term limits would have been very nervous. If that had made a difference to even two second-term Council members, plus the two first-termers who switched at the last moment, that's the ball game.

Something to think about as the Clean Elections Act gains traction. Meanwhile, anyone wishing to help lobby their own Council member should let me know.