Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

America's New War: Will Giuliani Try to Run for Third Term?

Aired September 24, 2001 - 10:43   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: As you know, there's a great deal of speculation here today about what Rudy will do next. Here's one of the headlines from the local newspapers, "The Daily News," "Rudy Wants to Stay."

Well, he just held a news conference that some of you might have listened in on. And as you will see, he has not yet made a decision about what his political future might bring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYR. RUDY GIULIANI, NEW YORK CITY: I don't want to speculate about it now, because anything I say will be interpreted by half the people one way and half the people the other way, and I need time to think about it. And I haven't had the time -- it's a very important decision, and I need time to think about it, and I need time talk to people about it. And I have not had the time to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Well, we've had the time to think about it. We've had the time to talk with people about it. And joining me right now Michael Saul, the man who wrote the story from "The Daily News." Will you read behind the lines for us? Does he want to run or not?

MICHAEL SAUL, "THE DAILY NEWS": He certainly hasn't shut it down. A close friend of his says that he is prepared to run, that he wants to serve, that he has the desire to be mayor for a third term, and I guess today, he didn't make that a formal announcement, or at least at this hour, he didn't make that a formal announcement, but he certainly didn't shut it down and say that he's not running.

So I guess it remains to be seen whether or not he's going to go through with it.

ZAHN: The former mayor of New York City Ed Koch, who served the city for 12 years, said earlier on this morning, although Mr. Giuliani's camp denies that it is now presently lobbying members of the city council to change the term limits so he can run, that indeed, that is what's going on. What are your sources tell you? How much of an effort is under way to clear the decks for Rudy if he decides he'd like a third shot?

SAUL: Absolutely. ZAHN: Fourth shot, we should say, because one of those shots did not help him make it to the mayorship.

SAUL: Absolutely. Council members are saying that they are getting calls from members of Giuliani's staff, asking them if they are willing to write a law that would repeal term limits, and members of the legislature saying that they are catching wind that the mayor would be interested in that. It's abundantly obvious that the mayor is putting out feelers and checking whether or not will get the support to do this.

ZAHN: So what is the likelihood? Did a city council leader come up with something that would allow for this rule to be changed? Or the state legislature?

SAUL: It's real tough. I mean, the mayor faces enormous obstacles. He needs to convince the city council or the state legislature to pass a law repealing the term limits ban.

ZAHN: Now this didn't work two times before, this failed two other attempts.

SAUL: Right, right, absolutely. I mean, the city council already discussed this issue this spring and decided that they were not going to go ahead and do it. And Sheldon Silver has also said that he is not interested in any legislative corrections to the term- limit ban.

ZAHN: One of the state assemblyman.

SAUL: Right, so it would seem very unlikely that he would be able to achieve that, and in the event that he does achieve that, which would seem almost miraculous, he's sure to face a court challenge, and that could take, you know, several weeks, if not months, to settle, so it'll probably be a touch court challenge. And then he also has to win. If he wants to be mayor, he has to convince enough people to vote for him. So he has tremendous hurdles.

ZAHN: Well, based on the overwhelming popularity he has today, you would think that if he able to work this all out with the legislature and the city council, he would certainly stand a pretty good chance, no?

SAUL: Absolutely. His popularity certainly has surged since September 11th. But right now, he would have to run as I guess write- in candidate, and that's certainly difficult, or try to get on as a -- on a third-party ballot. But certainly he -- you know, New Yorkers love him, and there are plenty of New Yorkers saying they want him to remain as mayor. So if he -- certainly if he gets legislature to go for it, he might be the next mayor.

ZAHN: Makes the primary more interesting tomorrow, doesn't it, Michael?

SAUL: Absolutely. Michael Saul, thank you for your time, reporter for "The New York Daily News." TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com