New York
Last Thursday was a chilly autumn day, but the chamber room of New York's City Hall reached boiling point. Poker-faced politicians scrambled into their seats, zealous activists held up signs with slogans and an unprecedented number of security guards sternly watched every coming and going. The city council was set to start a vote to decide whether Mayor Michael Bloomberg could get the chance to serve four more years in office.
By the time they arrived, most councillors and members of the public had a clear idea about which side they would take. But Len Quash was not one of them.
Mr Quash sat quietly. The Trinidad immigrant and retired worker from Domino Sugar had read a lot about the controversy caused by the mayor's plan to amend the term-limits law to allow him to campaign for a third four-year term.
But 'I still don't know what's going on', Mr Quash said. 'So I come here today just to see what's taking place.'
What took place was clear: an amendment proposed by three council members that aimed to put the whole question to a referendum of the city's voters failed. The term-limits extension bill proposed by the mayor passed, both by narrow margins.
But the scorching debate among council members before the vote didn't make Mr Quash any less confused: should council members or the public decide whether to have Mr Bloomberg on the ballot next year?
