Court ruling favors Bloomberg run for third term

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden (R) speak about the cases of swine flu found in New York in this recent photo from April 26, 2009.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court gave New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg a fresh legal victory in his effort to seek a third term by ruling in his favor on Tuesday on the issue of term limits.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that found the New York City Council had the legal right to extend term limits for itself and for the mayor.

In November, Bloomberg signed a law increasing the term limit for elected officials to three 4-year terms from two, overturning two public referendums, held in 1993 and 1996, that imposed the two-term limit.

Bloomberg, a former Wall Street trader and self-made billionaire who was elected mayor in 2001 and in 2005, has said the extraordinary financial crisis facing the city requires a person of his experience in office.

A group of elected officials and voters had filed suit in Brooklyn federal court to stop Bloomberg, saying the new law denied voters "meaningful participation in the political process."

Bloomberg still faces potential obstacles if a legislator gets a bill passed that might prevent the mayor from running again.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and David Storey)