<div><p>City Councilman Alan Gerson has taken out a personal loan and lent his re-election campaign $45,000, according to his latest campaign finance filing. </p><p> Gerson, in a brief chat in the stairway next to the Council Chambers just now, said he took out the loan to help pay for “up-front” campaign expenses, like hosting a campaign web site, and hiring a campaign team. (“My David Axelrod is Michael Auerbach,” he said.) </p><p> When I asked if he took out the loan out of concern he’d face a challenge fueled by his vote to extend term limits, Gerson said no. </p><p> “There are so many pressing issues. This is the district of Ground Zero,” he said, which also includes Wall Street, the “epicenter of the financial meltdown." </p><p>Gerson, along with two other colleagues, introduced a resolution to put the term-limits extension up for a public referendum. When that was voted down, Gerson voted to extend term limits from two four-year terms to three. </p><p> Gerson noted that he didn’t face a primary or general election challenger in 2005, which he said had happened for the first time in recent memory in Lower Manhattan. </p><p> He said planned to have the loan repaid by the primary this September.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=41452219&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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