Molinari v. Bloomberg
| Decision Date | 13 January 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-08-4539 (CPS)(JO).,CV-08-4539 (CPS)(JO). |
| Citation | 596 F.Supp.2d 546 |
| Parties | Guy MOLINARI, William C. Thompson, Jr., individually and in his official capacity as the New York City Comptroller, Betsy Gotbaum, individually and in her official capacity as Public Advocate for the City of New York, Bill de Blasio, individually and in his official capacity as a member of the New York City Council, Letitia James, individually and in her official capacity as a member of the New York City Council, Charles Barron, individually and in his capacity as a member of the New York City Council, Rosalie Caliendo, Phillip Depaolo, Philip Foglia, Kent Lebsock, Mike Long, Tom Long, Sarah Lyons, Andrea Rich, Ida Sanoff, Gloria Smith, Eric Snyder, Luvenia Suber, Kenneth J. Baer, Kenneth A. Diamondstone, Peter Gleason, Mark Winston Griffith, Ari Hoffnung, Stanley Kalathara, Alfonso Quiroz, Ydanis Rodriguez, Jo Anne Simon, New York Public Interest Research Group, Inc., U.S. Term Limits, and Responsible New York, Plaintiffs, v. Michael R. BLOOMBERG, in his official capacity as Mayor of New York City, Christine C. Quinn, in her official capacity as Speaker of the New York City Council, The New York City Council, The City of New York, James J. Sampel, in his official capacity as president of the Commissioners of Elections for the Board of Elections in New York City, and Board of Elections of New York City, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Jim Walden, Randy M. Mastro, Richard A. Bierschbach, Gabriel Herrman, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Norman Siegel, New York, NY, for Plaintiffs.
Stephen Edward Kitzinger, Elizabeth A. Wells, Jonathan L. Pines, New York Law Department, Harry Kresky, Law Office of Harry Kresky, Robert D. Joffe, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants.
Plaintiffs Guy Molinari, the New York City Comptroller, various members of the New York City Council who voted against Local Law 51, the Public Advocate, voters, prospective candidates, and good-government groups ("plaintiffs") commenced this action against Michael Bloomberg ("Mayor Bloomberg"), Christine Quinn ("Speaker Quinn"), the City of New York, and other municipal entities ("defendants"),1 alleging violations of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the Fourteenth Amendment, the New York State Constitution, the Municipal Home Rule Law, and the New York City Charter.2 Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that Local Law 51, amending the New York City Charter provisions limiting the eligibility of the Mayor, members of the City Council, and other elected officials to run for office, is unconstitutional and in violation of Municipal Law and the City Charter and an injunction barring the Board of Elections from listing City officials who have served two consecutive terms in office on the ballot in the 2009 City elections. Now before the Court are defendants' motion to dismiss this action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) or, in the alternative, for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, and plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment pursuant to the same rule. For the reasons stated below, defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted, and plaintiffs' motion is denied.
The following facts are drawn from the parties' submissions in connection with this motion. Disputes are noted.
In a 1993 city-wide referendum, New York City voters adopted an amendment to the City Charter instituting a two-term limit for city officials by a vote of 59% in favor versus 41% against, with over one million votes cast. Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts at ¶ 4 ("SMF"); Swain Decl. at ¶ 4(a). The City Charter was accordingly amended to state that it was the public policy of the City of New York to limit the eligibility to run for office of the Mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough presidents or council members to persons who had not served to or more consecutive terms in the office they sought to fill.3 In 1996, City Council members presented a proposal to City voters in a referendum seeking to extend term limits from two terms to three terms, which voters rejected by a margin of 54% against versus 46% in favor. SMF at ¶¶ 5, 7; Swain Decl. at ¶ 4(b).
At an October 2, 2008 press conference, Mayor Bloomberg announced his plan to support a City Council legislative proposal to alter term limits and to run for reelection, citing the impending economic crisis as the justification. Ex. 28, Press Release, Mayor Bloomberg Addresses New Yorkers About Term Limits, Office of the Mayor, October 2, 2008. The media reported extensive opposition by good-government groups, media columnists, and government officials to the change in the law.4
Local Law 51 (the "term-limits amendment"), New York City Charter §§ 1137-38 to extend the number of terms an official could serve consecutively from two to three terms, was introduced on October 7, 2008, "by request of the mayor." SMF at ¶ 10; N.Y. City Council Introduction 845 of 2008.
On October 9, 2008, plaintiff Council members de Blasio, James, and Gotbaum submitted a request for an advisory opinion to the Conflicts of Interest Board of the City of New York (the "Board"), seeking an opinion on whether the City Charter's conflicts-of-interest provisions would bar term-limited City officials from enacting the term-limits amendment. See Oct. 9, 2008 Letter to Conflicts Board. On October 15, 2008, the Conflicts Board issued its opinion concluding that no violation of the conflicts laws existed or would occur. See Conflicts of Interest Board, Advisory Opinion No. 2008-3 ("COIB Op."). On October 22, 2008, Council members de Blasio and James commenced a special proceeding against the Board and the City Council, pursuant to N.Y. C.P.L.R. Article 78, in the Supreme Court of New York County.5 They sought judicial review of the Board's Advisory Opinion and provisional emergency injunctive relief to postpone a Council vote on the term-limits amendment. See Ex. 55, Transcript of October 22, 2008 hearing. Chief Justice Silbermann of the New York Supreme Court denied the application for a temporary restraining order and declined to sign the proposed order to show cause, finding that the matter was not then justiciable. See id.
As the term-limits amendment was being prepared, plaintiffs de Blasio and James, along with Council member David Weprin, sponsored Introduction 858 of 2008, which would establish a Charter revision commission6 to put the issue of term limits before New York voters in a referendum by special election in early 2009. See de Blasio Aff. at ¶ 7; James Aff. at ¶ 12. This resolution is still pending in the Council. See de Blasio Aff. at ¶ 7.
On October 23, 2008, the City Council voted 28 to 22, with one abstention, against a resolution to put the matter of term limits to a vote by public referendum. Ex. 57, Sewell Chan and Jonathan Hicks, Council Votes, 29 to 22, to Extend Term Limits, New York Times, October 23, 2008. The Council then voted 29 to 22 in favor of the term-limits amendment.7 Ex. 58, Transcript of New York City Council Meeting, October 23, 2008, at 92-129. ("Council Transcript"). Of the 35 Council members who would have been barred from seeking election in 2009 under the prior law, 23 voted in favor of the amendment. See Swain Decl. at ¶ 3; Council Transcript at 92-129. At the public bill-signing ceremony, Mayor Bloomberg stated his intention to convene a Charter revision commission in 2010 to put the term-limits issue on the ballot. Ex. 59, Transcript of Bill Signing, November 3, 2008.
In the City Council, seniority tends to confer greater powers and responsibilities, including appointment to Committee chairmanships and other leadership positions. See de Blasio Aff. at ¶ 3; James Aff. at ¶¶ 3-7; Stern Aff. at ¶ 11. Were it not for the term-limits amendment, the Speakership and certain Committee chairmanship positions would have been vacant following the 2009 election, creating opportunities for current junior senators to rise to positions of authority. See James Aff. at ¶¶ 5-7; Stern Aff. at ¶ 11; Siegel Aff. at ¶ 6. Over the past ten years, more than 98% of Council incumbents have been reelected, Swain Decl. at ¶ 2(b)-(d). If incumbents are again elected in the 2009 election, junior Council members will not have the same access to positions of authority in the Council. The parties do not agree on the degree to which seniority is a factor in making leadership and chairmanship assignments, but for the reasons stated below, the dispute is not material.
A court must grant a motion for summary judgment if the movant shows that "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact" and that "the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Summary judgment is appropriate "[w]hen the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).
The party seeking summary judgment has the burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Apex Oil Co. v. DiMauro, 822 F.2d 246, 252 (2d Cir.1987). In order to defeat such a motion, the non-moving party must raise a genuine issue of material fact. "An issue of fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury [or other fact finder] could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Elec. Inspectors, Inc. v. Vill. of E. Hills, 320 F.3d 110, 117 (2d Cir.2003). A fact is material when it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Id. Although all facts and inferences therefrom are to be...
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