bq. For while Mr. Bloomberg himself may benefit from the change (if New Yorkers choose to re-elect him next year), it is the City Council whose power will increase in the long term.
That is from an op-ed in the New York Times by Pat Egan, a political scientist at NYU. The crux of his argument is that City Council members will themselves benefit from an additional term, as this allows them to accrue additional power and expertise.
Personally, I’ve never understood the appeal of term limits. (And I think many political scientists would agree.) Who provides the expertise when the legislators are only in office for a few years? In many cases, it’s lobbyists and interest groups. Their input is not necessarily nefarious, but ultimately it is better to empower democratically elected representatives.