Senator Hillary Clinton, in a Wednesday interview on NY1's "Inside City Hall," said that since city voters have shot down the proposal to extend term limits twice, their voices should also be taken into consideration.

"It is disturbing that voters voted twice, so I think that the City Council and the mayor have to first go through the hearings they're holding and try to figure out what they will do," said Clinton. "They have the legal authority to make the change that they are considering. But I really am just going to watch from the sidelines now because this is really an intense local debate and the people of New York City should be heard. They should have every opportunity to express themselves. And that's what I hope happens."

Clinton also talked about her own political future, saying she's not planning to make another bid for the White House. She says she's just planning to focus on her role as New York senator for now.

Wednesday, a council member backed away from supporting of Mayor's Michael Bloomberg's legislation to allow for city lawmakers to serve third terms. Bronx Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo told NY1 that she is now one of the 18 undecided City Council members.

Only 14 council members now publicly support the legislation, while 19 say that they oppose the measure.

On Wednesday, the Conflict of Interest Board ruled council members can vote on the measure, even though the legislation affects them.

As the public gets set to weigh in on Thursday and Friday's hearings on term limits, some potential City Council candidates rallied at Manhattan's City Hall Wednesday against an extension.

Many echoed complaints of voters, saying changing term limits legislatively is undemocratic.

"This deal is patently undemocratic, it's unfair, it's un-American, and it's an insult to the city of New York and the eight million people who live here," said candidate Bob Zuckerman.

"There is a feeling of having been sucker-punched," said candidate Jo Anne Simon. "For many of us, we've done the right things, we've followed the rules and now the rules are being changed in the middle of the game."

Many of the protesting candidates said they have not decided if they'll stay in the race if term limits are extended and incumbents run again.

Also on Wednesday, members of a community activist group in Sunset Park handed out flyers to residents in hopes of urging the City Council to leave the decision up to voters.

They are urging other community members to contact the neighborhood's Council member Sarah Gonzalez, who is still undecided on the issue, and convince her to vote against the plan.

"There's an expression called three times a charm. Well I say, if Bloomberg does this, it will be three times the harm. And the harm is to democracy," said community activist David Galarza.

"This is about, you know, democracy," said community activist Ivette Cabrera-Gauthier. "It's about two separate elections I voted for term limits, and now my vote is being discarded."

"I want them to know and to hear the people and not just decide by themselves. That is no democracy," said community activist Rosa Flores. "Democracy is very important to this country and this city."

In Manhattan, the Working Families Party delivered a petition to Councilman Alan Gerson Wednesday, urging him to vote against the plan.

Gerson, who remains undecided on the matter, was out of his office when the petition was delivered.

Meanwhile, the powerful teacher's union said that the public should have an input in the matter.

A representative for the United Federation of Teachers said that Tuesday night its members approved of a resolution calling for a public vote on the matter.

A spokesperson says, however, that the union has not taking a formal position for or against the extension of term limits.

Several other unions have come out in support of the bill.

The CEO of Newmark Knight Frank, one of the nation's top real estate management firms, also told NY1 Wednesday that he is in favor of the mayor's plan.

Barry Gosin was one of the businessmen who signed a letter which recently appeared in the Daily News backing an extension.

Gosin said Bloomberg provides the strong leadership and background the city needs in these tough financial times.

"He's built an incredible business. He's very smart," said Gosin. "He will do what's right for the city without taking into consideration the political implications. He has done it in the past."

Gosin's firm manages some 40 million square feet of space in the city and he negotiated the deal which brought the headquarters of Bloomberg L.P. to One Beacon Court on Lexington Avenue.

On Tuesday, Bloomberg went on the defensive when pressed about whether he and Council Speaker Christine Quinn were pressuring council members to support the bill.

"Look, I am not here to debate you -- ask your question and I'll answer it," said the mayor. "As far as I know, on our end of City Hall, number one we have no ability to do it. Number two we don't work that way."

The mayor said that having another popular vote over term limits would break federal law.

"There's every reason why it would be tied up in court for years. The Voting Rights act would fundamentally prevent that from being a realistic alternative," said Bloomberg.

Former corporation counsel Victor Kovner, the city's top lawyer under former Mayor David Dinkins, said that situation would probably not happen.

"That's a perfectly valid way of doing it and I don't think it invites litigation,” said Kovner, who supports the mayor's push for a third term through a council vote.

But Kovner and others say no matter how term limits get extended, the Justice Department would have to clear it. Ironically, according to another former city lawyer, the plan hatched by City Hall may spell more legal trouble.

"It looks already like they prejudged the issue," said Eric Lane of Hofstra University School of Law, another Bloomberg supporter.

Lane said the mayor may have courted trouble when he enlisted a term limits advocate to back his plan.

Ron Lauder bankrolled the original term limits referenda, but in exchange for supporting the mayor this time, the cosmetics billionaire will be appointed to a commission to study the issue.

To Lane, having a partisan on a supposedly independent body may invite federal scrutiny.

"From the outside it looks like he's saying, ‘Lauder, look, you can undo the damage,’” said Lane. “’Go be on this charter commission and everything will be fine. You can fix it! Just get me re-elected, then you can fix it so I can't run for a fourth term and nor can anybody else.’ That's what it sounds like."

The Justice Department declined comment.