Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he would seek re-election next year and is working with the City Council to amend a 15-year-old law limiting elected officials to two terms, as the Wall Street slump imperils the city's economy.

Bloomberg, 66, who would be forced out of office Dec. 31, 2009, under current law, said the fiscal consequences of the global economic crisis are potentially more severe than the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and that the city ``may well be on the verge of a meltdown.''

``Given the events of recent weeks, I don't want to walk away from leading the city in these tough times,'' Bloomberg, 66, said today at a news conference in City Hall. ``This is a challenge I want to take on.''

An extension of term limits would end Council Speaker Christine Quinn's intention to run for mayor next year, a campaign for which she's already raised more than $3 million. She said she would seek re-election to the council.

``I would not run for mayor if term limits were extended,'' the Manhattan Democrat said at a City Hall news conference. ``I think this mayor has been a very effective mayor and would have a good shot at getting re-elected.''

A bill drafted by the mayor's office will be introduced Tuesday at the next scheduled council meeting, Quinn said. During the next several days, she intends to discuss the issue privately and in group meetings with other council members, Quinn said.

Position Reversal

The mayor's decision reverses a stand he's taken on term limits since assuming office Jan. 1, 2002. His first veto in August 2002 rejected a revision in the law, later enacted through a 47-2 council override vote. City voters have approved term limits in referenda held in 1993 and 1996.

``The bottom line is I have 497 days to go,'' Bloomberg said Aug. 21. ``I'm not running for mayor.''

Last month, the mayor altered his position to say that while he continued to support the concept of term limits, he would seriously consider the argument of some council members who wanted to extend the law to three terms.

``You can have an honest discussion about two or three terms,'' he said in mid-September. ``Four to me sounds much too long. I think it depends on the bill.''

High Approval Rating

The issue, the mayor said today, is ``what is an appropriate period of time for people to learn, understand the magnitude of the problems and then be effective.'' A limit of three terms, the mayor said, wouldn't take away the voters' choice, ``it just says they have another choice.''

Bloomberg received a 68 percent approval rating in a poll of 413 New York City voters released today by Marist College of Poughkeepsie, New York. While voters favored term limits in general, 50 percent to 35 percent, they would make an exception to allow Bloomberg a third term by a 46 percent to 44 percent margin. The poll had a 5 percentage point margin of error.

The City Charter would permit such a change, said Ross Sandler, director of New York Law School's Center for New York City Law.

``It's a local law and can be changed the same way as any other, through council action, public referendum or an act of the state Legislature,'' he said.

'Up to Speed'

Bloomberg, the billionaire founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, ran for mayor in 2001 and 2005 as a Republican, after having been a lifelong Democrat, spending about $158 million on both races combined.

In June 2007, he renounced his Republican affiliation and considered running for president, traveling to several states to discuss issues he's stressed as mayor --public health, enforcing laws against criminal ownership of guns, energy conservation and infrastructure investment -- before ending speculation that he might become a candidate in February.

The city's corporate leadership, while divided on the issue of a law change, shares ``a broad consensus in favor of the mayor remaining in office,'' said Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, after canvassing 75 chief executives in September on the issue.

``They're comfortable with the way he makes decisions,'' she said. ``They view him as up to speed on world financial issues and the challenges facing New York in the next four or five years.''

Mayor's Race

Bloomberg's decision to seek a law change would have consequences for 35 of the council's 51 members, who would be compelled to step down next year under current law.

John Liu, a term-limited Queens Democrat planning to run for comptroller or public advocate, opposes a law change. ``It would subvert the collective will of 8 million people as expressed in two referendums,'' he said.

Democratic Comptroller William Thompson, who faces the prospect of his term ending in 2009, has raised more than $4.8 million and spent more than $1 million on his planned 2009 mayoral campaign.

``I am extremely disappointed,'' Thompson said. ``Let me be clear: today's announcement constitutes an attempt to suspend democracy.''

U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner, a Brooklyn Democrat who has raised more than $5 million for a mayoral run, described the potential legal change as a ``quintessential back room deal'' between Quinn and Bloomberg, whom he said could have called instead for a special citywide vote early in 2009, Weiner said.

``No one who supports doing it this way can say they are for open government, for reform and that they're for doing government the right way,'' Weiner said.

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

Last Updated: October 2, 2008 16:23 EDT