Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's effort to revise the law to permit him to run for a third term attracted opposition from City Council members seeking to put the issue to a public referendum.

The mayor intends to ask the City Council tomorrow to change a term limits law affirmed by popular vote in 1993 and 1996. Existing law would force 35 of the council's 51 members from office at the end of next year.

Opponents are proposing two bills to force the issue to a citywide vote. One would empanel a city Charter Revision Commission empowered to set a special election early next year. The other would bar any change to the law without a referendum.

``There is a new generation of leaders and a diverse generation of leaders ready to step forward,'' said Council member Bill de Blasio, a Brooklyn Democrat, at a rally in front of City Hall today.

At least 15 council members have rejected changing the law without a referendum, according to a biggerthanone.com, a Web site representing the opposition.

Bloomberg, 66, on Oct. 2 announced his decision to seek a law change and run for re-election after meeting with publishers of at least three city newspapers and with businessman Ron Lauder, who bankrolled two successful referendum campaigns to establish and retain the term-limits law.

``The notion that only one man whose experience does not resemble that of almost any of his almost 8 million fellow New Yorkers would make a decision literally at the luncheon table with a small group of billionaires is fundamentally unacceptable,'' de Blasio said.

Economic Crisis

The fiscal consequences to the city of the global economic crisis may be more severe than the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bloomberg said last week in announcing why he reversed the term limits stand he'd taken since assuming office Jan. 1, 2002.

``Given the events of recent weeks, I don't want to walk away from leading the city in these tough times,'' Bloomberg said.

The New York Times quoted Lauder saying he accepted the idea of a one-time law change to allow Bloomberg to run for a third term, although he didn't want to amend it permanently.

Bloomberg today said that, if elected to a third term, he would create a city charter revision panel and appoint Lauder to it that could decide the issue once and for all or call for a third referendum.

``I will ask them to look at, not whether we should have term limits or not, but whether it should be two or three terms, and I will try to get some people on that that have a diversity of views, and I do plan to put Ron Lauder on there,'' Bloomberg said today in London, where he was attending an economic conference.

Lauder declined requests for an interview.

The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Goldman in New York at hgoldman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 6, 2008 16:51 EDT