By MICHAEL SCHENKLER

Term limit repeal died last Thursday. At least we think it did.

We are proud at the small part we played in forcefully reminding the City Council that they are there to serve the people of the City and it’s not the other way around.

According to Speaker Peter Vallone and his people, term limit repeal is dead – killed by the Government Operations Committee. Sadly the three Queens members of the committee continue to bring shame to our borough. John Sabini who denied to this paper involvement in the term limit repeal effort the same week he was sitting in the office of attorneys planning strategy for repeal; Julia Harrison, just a week after she reinforced her position of disdain towards the Asians in her Flushing community; and Juanita Watkins in search of another two years on the public payroll, all voted to bring the term limit repeal bill to the full council for a vote. Brooklyn’s Lloyd Henry voted with them.

Councilmembers from the other four boroughs, Committee Chair Mary Pinkett, Adolpho Carrion, Phil Reed, Eva Moskowitz and Stephen Fiala voted to kill the bill.

Council Speaker Peter Vallone took credit for quietly lobbying achieving the bill’s death. On the morning of the vote, the Speaker’s people contacted this writer and informed us, "I think we have the votes to keep it in committee."

And now the Vallone folks tell us: "yeah, he [the Speaker] really thinks it’s dead. He worked every angle to kill it.  And one of them was definitely the "ire of the press."  So I’m sure you [the Trib and this columnist] did help.  Congrats."

We applaud the Speaker for the role he played in trying to restore a bit of respect to a Council sullied by a month of self-serving scheming. Perhaps this victory helps his mayoral efforts. We’ve become used to a mayor who bashes you in the face when he disagrees with you. Peter Vallone’s style is quite different. We just wish we knew how to tell when he is seriously fighting for or against something. We’ve become cynical of accepting the word of politicians.

Peter, we cautiously accept the victory. We remind our readers that this was not a fight over term limits. It was a fight over the self-serving efforts on the part of Council members to void the will of the people expressed in two referendums.

We take the Speaker at his word and assume he will use all the power of his office and prevent any further attempt to consider this term limit coup. He has spent fifteen years showing us he has the power. We’d like to hear that he would use it should City Hall corridors start anti-democratic buzzing again.

From Queens, Helen Marshall, Al Stabile, Tom White and Walter McCaffrey joined anti-democratic Harrison, Sabini and Watkins in this vile effort to void the people’s will.

McCaffrey coincidentally has still failed to adequately respond to serious questions about missing or misappropriated campaign funds well in excess of $100,000 which was at the center of a scandal forcing him out of a Congressional race last year.

Marshall and Stabile contacted us — Marshall on several occasions — to insist their motives were nobler than their colleagues. Stabile wrote a letter which ran a couple of weeks back on our edit page explaining his position. Then Stabile informed us, if he is prevented to run because of term limits, he’d be a candidate for his old seat in two years when the law permits him to run again.

We again extend to Marshall an invitation to justify her position to overturn the will of the people. We think her viability as a borough presidential candidate is very closely tied to her ability to explain away her involvement in the darkest effort of the modern day City Council.

We believe that these council members brought shame on the council and themselves. We cannot recall very many issues where legislators were willing to defy the will of the people to benefit themselves. We shall not forget the dark days of Council moral corruption. We hope the people won’t either.

As for term limits, we think the new Council will be bright, talented, energized and ready to tackle the problems of the City, one large step removed from the yolk of big money and lobbyists. The city will benefit.

A NEW CANDIDATE

It seems that we’ve met or talked to or read about or wrote about hundreds of candidates seeking the 14 Queens Council seats – well, almost.

Eric Gioia is one of several who has seriously impressed us with his desire, intelligence and ability. We had Eric, a candidate for McCaffrey’s 26th Council District seat, as one of our "likely winners."

Not so quickly says Elizabeth Crowley. The twenty–two year old daughter of the late Councilman Walter Crowley who once owned this seat has thrown her hat into the ring. West Queens political folklore relates that there are enough Crowley family members and friends in this district to insure a Crowley victory.

Hmmm! That would require a professional organized effort — we hear that Liz has retained Scott Levenson’s quite competent Advance Group. Also needed would be enough dough to make it happen. Well if cousin Joe the Congressman is aboard, raising money isn't as difficult for a newcomer.

The Liz Crowley announcement is new. The jury is still out.

However, Eric Gioia who spent two plus years working in the White House and has supporters including Christy Brinkley and Bruce Lindsay as well as a large number of troops in the district and Queens’ premier campaign consultants, the Parkside Group, may have many sleepless nights ahead.

They’re smiling in Joe Crowley’s and Anthony Weiner’s offices.

For months, the unadjusted census figures have caused the entire NY Congressional delegation considerable concern. Some more than others.

You see, according to the 2000 Census figures finaled by the Bush administration, New York, which has not grown as fast as the rest of the nation, is going to lose two Congressional seats. And as the scuttlebutt went, one would be upstate and one downstate.

Charlie Rangel need not worry. But everyone else will be pulling out the maps and trying to figure out how to draw lines to get what they want.

But conventional wisdom indicated that the Bronx’s Elliot Engel who is at odds with his Democratic County leader Roberto Ramirez, who helped powerful line drawer Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver retain his speakership, is the most vulnerable. Next in the vulnerable line was Queens’ Joe Crowley who also has a piece of the Bronx and a political rabbi named Tom Manton who led the move to overthrow line-drawing Silver. Now Crowley could be thrown into the same district as Engel or could be drawn into battle with number three on the vulnerable list, Brooklyn’s Anthony Weiner, who also has a large chunk of Queens.

Queens senior reps Ackerman and Lowey, in three counties each, were likely to be impacted by new lines. Carolyn Maloney could lose Queens. No one could guess the effect on Nydia Velazquez’s gerrymandered minority seat. While Greg Meeks’ black district would be least likely to be scribbled on.

So these Queens reps along with their staffs, spent hours drawing, dreaming and planning to lobby and worrying. And they’ve just begun.

The math of the new census goes like this. Old (present) Congressional Districts contained 630,000 people. New New York Districts would require 654,000. Yikes, things will change.

And those that were betting, bet that one of Engel, Crowley and Weiner would not be returning to the 2002 Congressional dance.

And then, Friday of last week, more precise figures were released. The population of New York City increased by 9.4% to 8 million people. Although cries of undercount continue to eminate from City politicians and googoos (good government groups), that 8 million figure has brought joy to the offices of vulnerable City Congress members.

You see, they felt that when the map drawers — Repbulican Guv George Pataki, Republican Senate Leader Joe Bruno and Dem Silver — took pencil to paper or computer to census tract, it was less likely that they hurt the folks who represent the exploding population of New York City. But Bruno is sure to try.

Crowley’s Office immediately pointed out that his 7th Congressional District was the largest in the State containing 680,000 people – even more than the requisite number.

Weiner’s applauded the fact that Queens is the fastest growing borough showing an increase of 278,000 people since the 1990 census.

Queens now has 2,229,379 people. (Remember that; we’re goning to test you on it in weeks to come.) That’s up more than 14% from the last census.

Now, in part, the borough’s and the city’s population grew and in part, the City Planning Commission did a credible job of identifying folks who were missed or undercounted last time around – most frequently the poor or new immigrants. Although the City is likely still shortchanged by undercount, the improvement in the count will accrue financial benefits since many federal funding formulas are based on population – and these are numbers that will be used. Rudy Giuliani gets the credit.

As far as redistricting, we’ve played with the numbers — there will be lots more playing before the lines are finaled. The reality is that in spite of City growth, what we’re calling Metro NY (the City, Long Island and Westchester) loses about three quarters of a Congressional seat while upstate loses one and a quarter seats.

Speculation will be the name of the game until the lines are drawn and dry. Our crystal ball, with a heavy distortion towards Queens, suggests that lots of lines must change but Elliot Engel will find his district absorbed into super Congresswoman Nita Lowey’s district and the rest divided among Crowley, Jose Serrano and perhaps others.

Engel will have a choice of facing superwoman Lowey, Serrano in a minority district, Crowley on mostly Crowley’s turf or he could punt.

Lots more to this one – stay tuned.

ACK & GERSH

Gary Ackerman, post hip replacement, heard there was a staff luncheon (read: free food) at the Trib office and showed up for a bite, sporting his new cane. He’s back to the DC commute and feeling fine.

Alan Gershuny, our old friend, is returning to Queens as Ackerman’s alter ego. After April 1 you’ll find him at Gary’s Queens office.