Is NY still a democracy?

Really just want to throw this out there, because I find it quite shocking. Basically, Mayor Bloomberg is ignoring a decision made in a city-wide referendum limiting officials to two consecutive terms running for reelection. (NYT) Sounds like the kind of thing against which the US would run amok if it happened in Central or South America and involved a left-wing President. To be fair, the government (aka, the CDU) of Hamburg also ignores its citizens' decision-making (SZ). Still, this seems kind of crazy in the biggest and (by name) most important US city. Today the NY Times made its readers aware of the fact that in two Democratic runoff elections (for public advocate and comptroller - whatever the fuck these people actually do) 8% of eligible Democrats actually voted. That means that 2% of the city's population decided on who will - undoubtedly - fill these positions. If that is the future of democracy, I sincerely do hope the last guy around will remember to turn the lights off.