Vote New York

In the NYC Democratic primaries 4 incumbant City Council members that voted to nullify the referendum for term limits on there own jobs.

The City Council took a well-deserved shellacking Tuesday night as the voters tossed at least four deadwood incumbents into unprecedented fires of public fury. And two more may be set for roasting.

Burn, baby, burn.

The sudden mood to throw the bums out was a happy surprise of the Democratic primary of 2009, an election that otherwise went pretty much as expected.

Special congratulations to Cy Vance for victory in the Manhattan district attorney’s race.

And an expression of hope that Bill Thompson wages a vigorous issues-based campaign against Mike Bloomberg for mayor.

And a wait-and-see in controller and public advocate runoffs.

Otherwise, burn, baby, burn.

Gone from the Council are Helen Sears of Queens, Alan Gerson of Manhattan, Kendall Stewart of Brooklyn and Ken Mitchell of Staten Island. When the counting is done, also gone may be Tom White of Queens and Maria Baez of the Bronx. Good riddance to the lot.

In a system where incumbents never lose, even four defeats signal a revolution. Why did they lose? A number of forces appear to have come to bear.

Conventional wisdom is that the Council vote to extend both mayoral term limits (courageous) and Council term limits (self-servingly dumb) stoked anger. Whatever truth there may be to this thinking, it is certain the voters had larger grievances.

Like having a Council that ran a slush fund for phantom groups.

Like having a Council that gives millions of tax dollars in so-called member items to cronies, kin and kooks.

Like having a Council that voted itself a 25% retroactive pay hike while promising reforms.

Like having a Council that took the money and ditched reform.

Even Speaker Christine Quinn took her lumps while being returned to office. Against two unknown, underfunded competitors, Quinn eked out only 52% of the vote among the Democrats of Chelsea and the West Village.

Despite good intentions and a constructive approach on issues, she became just one of them, leader of a lousy pack who proposed sweeping reform and then cravenly retreated to lesser measures.

Quinn and the rest of the survivors ought to take these as the impetus for lifting the Council from the mire. So, too, the newcomers, lest they become lambs to the next slaughter.

Finally, think next year, think the state Legislature, think Albany, target of nuclear voter rage, condemned by 68% of the respondents to a Marist poll as needing major change.

Burn, baby, burn!

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