FOR THE RECORD

Among the officials who took part in an Oct. 29 press conference about plans to challenge Mayor Bloomberg's enactment of a bill extending term limits were the two other citywide officials who are now eligible to seek a third term, City Comptroller Bill Thompson and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.

Ms. Gotbaum earlier that week had told the New York Times that she felt so strongly that approving the change without a voter referendum was wrong that she would not take advantage of the legislation by running again next year.

When a reporter mentioned her pledge and asked whether Mr. Thompson would also rule out seeking re-election to his current job, the Comptroller was far less eager to commit.

"We're here about the court challenge right now," he responded, saying he would not comment further until after the press conference.

Approached as he descended the steps of City Hall, Mr. Thompson said, "I'm running for Mayor. That's the response."

Doubts have persisted, however, among many in government and politics who believe that Mr. Thompson is likely to forsake a difficult mayoral race — in which he would first have to defeat Anthony Weiner in a primary to have a shot at dethroning Mr. Bloomberg in the general election — in favor of a much-easier re-election bid that would give him a base from which to run for City Hall in 2013.

One of those holding that view is Brooklyn City Councilman David Yassky, who in an open letter discussing the term limits battle that he disseminated the day after Mr. Thompson's disclaimer said his own plans to run for Comptroller "may now be foreclosed, as the current Comptroller is eligible to run for re-election."

Mr. Yassky adopted one of the more-unusual positions in the term limits battle. He co-sponsored a proposed amendment requiring that the extension be decided by a voter referendum before the change could take effect, but when it failed, he voted in favor of the legislation.

"As much as I was loath to override the expressed will of the voters, I was unwilling to leave in place a term limits policy which I believe is bad in general and especially at this time," he stated in his letter.

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A Fire Department Inspector who told WWOR-TV news that he would be fired for going on record about what he believed was corruption among FDNY Inspectors is, in fact, up for termination. It's not his whistle-blowing that might get him fired, insisted chief FDNY spokesman Francis X. Gribbon, but 127 missed days of work since April.

Civilian Inspector Raj Singh, who has more than 15 years on the job, told the news show in a piece that aired Oct. 29 that members of the unit were overlooking defective fire alarm systems in order to extract under-the-table payments. Mr. Gribbon responded to the piece by saying that "none of his allegations have a shred of proof," and confirmed that the department was moving to terminate Mr. Singh.

"He's been twice brought up on disciplinary charges," Mr. Gribbon said of Mr. Singh. "He went to India to make Bollywood movies. He's been reporting medical conditions without any kind of verification from doctors. He's been AWOL repeatedly. He's got no credibility."

The FDNY spokesman added, "He will, of course, be allowed to proceed to [the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings] if he chooses, as provided for under Civil Service Law."

Mr. Singh was out of the country last week, his lawyer explained, and was unavailable to comment.

Two other former Inspectors who acted as sources for the story, Mr. Gribbon said, had been fired for filing false police reports while on duty. "These are disgruntled former and current employees with criminal records," he said.

City Council Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee Chairman Miguel Martinez vowed to hold a hearing on the issue. Bob Ungar, a spokesman for Local 2507 of District Council 37 — whose members include uniformed Fire Prevention Inspectors — feared that his uniformed members would be mistaken for members of the civilian Inspector division that has been audited by the Comptroller on the basis of Mr. Singh's allegations.

As for those allegations, Mr. Gribbon said that there was a backlog in correcting defective alarms in large commercial buildings and high-rise residences, but said that it was not the result of wrongdoing.

"These do not have a public safety impact whatsoever," he said. "They need to be corrected. And we're doing that."