Dickens, Arroyo Constituents Say They Want A Decision On Term Limits
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Just a day before the City Council's vote on the mayor's term limits bill, several council members had not yet taken a stand on the issue. NY1's Roger Clark spoke with voters in Councilwoman Inez Dickens and Councilwoman Maria Del Carmen Arroyo's districts to find out what they had to say.At the 125th Street train station in Harlem, voters had a familiar-sounding message for Councilwoman Inez Dickens: Make a decision on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to extend term limits.
"She has to make a decision," said one Harlem resident. "I mean everyone wants to know. This is New York City; we want to know."
It's what NY1 has been hearing from voters over the past few weeks in other districts where the council member was officially undecided. Dickens, elected in 2005, would not be affected by term limits in the next election.
Constituents still wanted to hear what she has to say.
"I mean you shouldn't be undecided about something like that," said another. "I think she should make a decision and stick with it."
"I absolutely think she should make up her mind and make a stern, steady decision about what she needs to do," said a third.
Meanwhile, in the Bronx district of Councilwoman Maria Del Carmen Arroyo, voters were also waiting to hear what she has to say on the issue.
"Personally I wonder why she hasn't taken a position," said a Bronx resident. "I think it's very unfair to the people of the Bronx that she hasn't taken a position."
"It makes me feel that she's hiding, and she's ducking and dodging the people that need her to voice her opinion."
In fact, Arroyo said she planned to vote yes before moving to the undecided column. Some residents already know what they would like to hear from their councilwoman.
"I feel she should make a decision and it should be a positive decision, because Bloomberg has done a lot for the city and I feel he has helped New York grow," said a constituent.
"I don't feel he should be running for a third because we didn't even get a chance to see nobody else in there," said another.
It was pretty evenly split in both districts whether or not voters wanted the mayor to run for a third term. But the majority of residents NY1 did speak with said, they'd rather see the people decide, than the City Council.