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American Morning

America's New War: Rudy to Run?

Aired September 24, 2001 - 09:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us on the telephone right now to the reaction to this news is the former mayor New York City, Ed Koch.

Welcome, good to have you with us this morning, sir.

ED KOCH, FMR MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: All right, how will you personally feel about a third term for Mayor Giuliani? We should make it clear for folks who don't live here, you and the mayor have had moments of friction along the way here.

KOCH: Well, more than moments. I wrote a book called "Giuliani Nasty Man." And, nevertheless, I voted for him when he ran the first time, and even after I broke with him, I voted for him when he ran for reelection,

Now, let me say that my position is that there should not be an extension of his term. They didn't do that for Abraham Lincoln nor FDR during World War II, and, therefore, that would be very, very antidemocratic would never fly.

I have said that I think the people ought to be given an opportunity to vote for him in the current election, and it is not because of the fact that he has run the city in a very fine way since the catastrophe, because I believe that any of the candidates would have done exactly the same. The reason is that we give him high marks is we didn't expect it of him, because of his failure to show compassion over the last eight years before the catastrophe.

But he has done a good job. That is not why I would be supportive of a third term, if he ran. It would be, because we are facing catastrophic economic losses here in the city of New York, people, businesses might move out, some have, our revenues are going down because of the economy. And so we need someone who has come through the experience of running a city rather than having to give the new mayor, who has never been mayor, of the six or eight months it takes to learn the ropes, as you might say.

ZAHN: But wait a minute, are you suggesting that none of the candidates who will be running in the runoff tomorrow are qualified, or Michael Bloomberg on the other side?

KOCH: They are all qualified. But it takes six to eight months to learn where everything is at city hall. You are not born mayor. I came in, in 1977, actually, taking, office in January '78, and we had the biggest financial crisis that the city has ever had, and it took six months before we knew where every break and every lever was in city hall. I don't think we have the time now to waste a single day because the catastrophe that we have had is like no other that has faced any other city, not simply the deaths, and as terrible as they are, but the economic catastrophe that has fallen.

ZAHN: All right, you made it very clear you don't believe in extensions should be in order, but the voter should have the chance to vote him in, which would mean either the state legislature coming up with some kind of a bill or the city council to get rid of these term limits. Now, wasn't that attempted in '93 and '96 and it didn't happen.

KOCH: Right. And the people today when polled are against it two-to-one, notwithstanding the fact they have a high regard for what Giuliani has done, over the last two weeks. And the state legislature said it will not do it, it will only consider it if the city council passes a home-rule resolution urging the state legislature to eliminate term limits.

I support eliminating the term limits because of the reasons I have given you. Giuliani does not have many friends in the city council, he's alienated them over eight years. Whether the last two weeks has re-established his relationship, I can't tell you. But I can tell you this, he is not being up-front and forward about you, assuming that he's going to ask, which is what this conversation is based on, for an extension, or the opportunity to run, because he said that he has not made any efforts to get the council to do that. That is not true. His administration, his deputy mayors have been calling members of the city council to urge them to support the mayor on this. So I wish he would be level with us and not be a reluctant, the dragon (ph) here.

ZAHN: All right, let's say all of a sudden members of city council fall in love with Rudy now in this process, what are the chances then he -- that he would stay mayor for a third term?

KOCH: Assuming now that he has made a decision that he wants an opportunity to run and assuming that the city council has the same position that I do, which is the voter should have the right to do -- make that decision as to whether they want him or not, and they have to rescind then in the state legislature the limitation on term limits, I believe it is possible, but it would be not an overwhelmingly done deal simply because the public, at least in the last poll, said it supports the use of term limits. But I would support rescinding term limits.

ZAHN: Does that mean that you want you to be mayor again?

KOCH: No. I have -- I was mayor for 12 years and I'm happy with what I did. And I've been out of office for 12 years, but you still hear from me, right?

ZAHN: We hear from you a lot, and I actually was quite surprised by much of what you had to say about your former nemesis, Mayor Giuliani.

Thank you very much.

KOCH: I love the city of New York. I want to see done for the city what is in city's best interests. Mayor Giuliani was a good mayor, but he demonstrated over eight years a lack of compassion for people. Now, he had an epiphany during the catastrophe because he was in the trade center and was almost killed when he was in the bunker, and people who were outside the bunker, who he had just spoken with, who were in the police department, for fire department, were killed. And so when he came down he had an epiphany, and that changed his reaction and response to the needs of people. And that is all to the good. I mean, we are all capable of change. His was a dramatic one.

ZAHN: Well, Mayor Ed Koch, we appreciate your joining us this morning. It is going to be fascinating to see how this tracks in days to come, the mayor may be giving us some insights a little bit later on this morning; that news conference has been moved back from about 9:30 to 9:45. We will be carrying it live.

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