City Councilman Joe Borelli, who will resign his seat on Friday, told NY1’s Errol Louis on Monday that he thinks would have remained in office if he was not term limited at the end of this year.
Borelli, who is also the City Council minority leader, would not have been able to run for reelection in November due to term limits.
He said he opposes term limits in public offices, saying “the public has a right to choose.”
“Not allowing the public to pick the person that might be the most qualified or the best person for the job, I think, is un-Democratic,” Borelli said on “Inside City Hall.”
Borelli said he enjoyed working as the minority leader at City Hall.
“This has really been the honor of the lifetime, and it’s a privilege to work at City Hall. It’s actually fun to be the minority leader. It was fun to actually work with a mayoral administration that is not just pushing, there’s also some pulling going on. So it’s been a real, you know, blessing to be able to do that for some time,” he said.
Borelli, whose district covered parts of Staten Island, will leave City Hall to take on the role of a managing director with the lobbying firm Chartwell Strategy Group, which is based in Washington, D.C. He said he plans on opening the New York practice.
A special election will be held to fill his seat after his resignation.