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�We have a very, very strong spirit of unity right now, and I think that it’s my obligation to maintain it.�
— RUDOLPH GIULIANI mayor of New York |
STATE ASSEMBLY Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat from New York City, told New York 1 cable television Wednesday that Giuliani asked him in a telephone conversation for help overturning the state’s term limits. Silver told New York 1 that while he opposed the idea, he was inclined to let the Democratic-dominated state Assembly consider Giuliani’s request. Silver’s spokeswoman, Eileen Larrabee, said Silver told Giuliani he would bring up the request with the state Senate. No date was set for such a discussion. At a briefing Wednesday for reporters, Giuliani would not directly answer questions about whether he would seek a third term, saying he first wanted to talk with the three major mayoral candidates remaining after Tuesday’s primary “about something we can agree on.” “We have a very, very strong spirit of unity right now, and I think that it’s my obligation to maintain it,” Giuliani said. Asked about Silver’s comments that he wanted the Assembly to overturn term limits, Giuliani said, “That’s a possibility.” SIGNALS SENT IN TV INTERVIEW Giuliani, 57, had signaled his intentions in an interview to be broadcast Wednesday night on CBS’s “60 Minutes II.” Asked whether he wanted a third term, he replied, “I am open to the idea of doing it.” |
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Many New Yorkers, comforted by Republican Giuliani’s calm leadership since the Sept. 11 attacks, want to tear up the city’s term limits law so he can stay in charge beyond Dec. 31. That would require a bill in either the Assembly or the New York City Council, which is also dominated by Democrats, a strategy that political observers said was unlikely to succeed. Silver told New York 1 that Giuliani said he would also seek help from Republican Gov. George Pataki, who had no comment Wednesday. Pataki, who before Sept. 11 had been part of a long-simmering feud with Giuliani, said last week that if he were a city voter, he would write in Giuliani’s name on the ballot. |
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OFFICIAL CANDIDATES OVERSHADOWED The debate over Giuliani overshadowed Tuesday’s mayoral primaries to choose his potential successors to run in the Nov. 6 general election. Exit polls suggested that there was considerable support for Giuliani, whose handling of the post-attack recovery and rescue rehabilitated his image among New Yorkers as a dour administrator. About 40 percent of Democrats said they would vote for him if he found a way to run in November, while 80 percent of Republicans pledged to back him. Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer received 36 percent of the official vote and Public Advocate Mark Green 31 percent in the Democratic primary. Since neither received the 40 percent required to capture the nomination, both will compete head-to-head in a runoff Oct. 11. |
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Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire media entrepreneur, easily won the Republican nod over former U.S. Rep. Herman Badillo. The primary had been scheduled for Sept. 11, but it was delayed after two jetliners toppled the twin towers, leaving the nation’s largest city in chaos, its economy in jeopardy and more than 6,000 feared dead. Bloomberg spent more than $20 million of his own money to defeat Badillo. He received 42,690 votes, or 72 percent, to Badillo’s 16,710 votes, or 28 percent. Even if Giuliani were not involved, “it won’t be a normal campaign because these are not normal times,” said Green, 56, the government’s elected watchdog. “The city is somber. Voters I met today were not enthusiastic about voting.” The unofficial returns did not include at least 15,000 absentee ballots or write-in ballots, all of which will be counted later. Exit polling of Republican voters indicated that about 15 percent wrote in a candidate’s name — presumably Giuliani — which is not enough to affect the primary’s outcome. The other Democratic candidates were City Comptroller Alan Hevesi and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone. Democrats outnumber Republicans in the city by a 5-to-1 ratio. MSNBC.com’s Alex Johnson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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Huge anti-U.S. rally in Kabul streets
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