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With 2000 race in mind, Giuliani to propose change of successor
June 15, 1999 NEW YORK (AllPolitics, June 15) -- In a legal maneuver setting the stage for an anticipated U.S. Senate race in 2000, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will propose a change in the city's line of succession, a source on his staff confirmed. Giuliani, a Republican considering a Senate run, is planning to propose a city charter change that would block a Democrat from serving out the mayor's term, at least not without a fight. The mayor has formed an exploratory committee for the race, widely seen as the first step toward a formal candidacy, allowing candidates to raise money and fund campaign trips. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton also is strongly considering a run, having announced that she will form her own exploratory committee next month. Giuliani is expected to call for a special election within 60 days of his office ever becoming vacant, a change from current law, which calls for the city's public advocate to automatically take over. The mayor scheduled a news conference Tuesday to announce a charter review commission, a move first reported by the New York Post. The public advocate is the second-highest ranking official in New York City. Under the city's charter, last amended in 1989, the public advocate presides over the City Council and represents the consumers of city services. He also succeeds the mayor in the event that the mayor resigns, is removed from office or dies in office. The public advocate's office is currently held by Democrat Mark Green, who was first elected in 1993 by 60 percent of the vote and re-elected in 1997 with 73 percent -- greater margins than Mayor Giuliani received in the same years. Under current law, if the mayor were to leave office before September 20 of any year, the law requires there be a nonpartisan general election held in November of that year. But if the mayor stays in office beyond September 20 -- more likely in the year 2000 -- then the advocate serves out the rest of the term. Green is opposing Giuliani's move to change the law. "It would be unfair, undemocratic, and probably illegal," Green said in a statement released by his office. Green scheduled his own news conference after Giuliani's. The forthcoming legal debate foreshadows the expected Giuliani 2000 campaign for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The next scheduled New York mayoral election is in November 2001. That means if Giuliani were to run for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and win, he would take office in January 2001, vacating the mayor's office 10 months before election day and one year before his second term ends, on December 31, 2001. "Those who have proposed a switch to a "special election" in the early months of following a vacancy, for example in February of 2001, are campaigning for the least -- not the most -- democratic alternative," Green said. In the city's 16 special elections from 1992 through 1997, the average turnout was a paltry 7.2 percent of registered voters, according to Green's office. The city's mayor has been replaced before finishing a term three times this century. The most recent case was in 1950, when mayor William O'Dwyer resigned. Green's office also said another legal hurdle in Giuliani's proposal is that a state law enacted in 1952 requiring that any successor to an executive must be a citywide or countywide official in his own right and must have presiding authority over the local legislative body. The public advocate is the only one who qualifies in New York City. After the public advocate, the city comptroller and the city council speaker are next in the line of succession. Both are Democrats. The advocate's office came into being in 1993, the same year that city voters passed a term limits referendum, limiting the mayor to two terms, and forcing the popular Giuliani to consider higher office. |
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MORE STORIES:Tuesday, June 15, 1999
• Video: Bush reflects on debut campaign foray • Gore to declare for president Wednesday • Poll: Forty-five percent say they will vote against Gore • Group links Lott actions to casino donations • With 2000 race in mind, Giuliani to propose change of successor • Lessons for Mrs. Clinton from 1964 • Report says Department of Energy 'incapable of reforming itself' • Gambling everywhere according to federal study • Rep. Lazio likely to run for New York Senate • Lott says Gore's gun control vote may boomerang • Presidential hopeful recalls humiliation of NBA rookie year • Action on Senate medical privacy bill postponed again • Senate passes bill to limit Y2K lawsuits, administration threatens veto • House talks Social Security compromise as Senate struggles • Former New Mexico Gov. Jack M. Campbell dead at 82 • Abortion settlement reached requiring 24-hour waiting period • Bush welcomes attention from opposition • Gore mistaken about where young adults can buy guns • Book says lawyer was upset at Clinton's word dance about Lewinsky • New polls shows Bush holding lead • U.S. envoy seeks to patch up ties with China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
