It has been decided that Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will abandon his long-shot bid for a third consecutive term as mayor of New York City. Giuliani has offered to stay in office for a three-month transition period, with the consent of the new mayor.
“I’m not going to be on the ballot. I’m available to do the transition I offered to do,” said Guiliani. According to Giuliani, he wants to help out the new mayor, but only if that is what the new mayor desires. He does not plan to interfere if deemed unwelcome by the new administration, but the offer will remain on the table.
Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, who is an Oct. 11 runoff with Mark Green, rejected the idea of Giuliani staying on for a three-month transition period. The Republicans want to go along with Giuliani’s plan, but the Democrats are showing no interest in it.
Mayor Giuliani should be allowed to stay on for a transition period with the new Mayor of New York City. If we remember back to World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third presidential term. Although there were no laws in place limiting presidential terms, it was a break from tradition for a president to serve more than two terms. America was led into WWII by FDR after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. FDR died on April 12, 1944, he did not survive to see the surrender of the Axis nations in 1945. FDR had the longest presidency in the history of the country. FDR instilled confidence and security in the American people in the same fashion that Guiliani is currently raising the spirits of New Yorkers.
New York needs a strong leader to comfort its residents during these devastating times. Now that Giuliani has decided not to run for a third consecutive term, people ware anxious to know if he will stay on for the transition period that has been proposed. It makes sense to have someone who has served the city for over eight years help the new Mayor adjust during these trying times. In the past 100 years, the continental United States has never been attacked in such magnitude, and we need a man of experience to take us through the process. Only the candidates, and time, will tell if Giuliani has three more months left to help ease the pain and confusion of New Yorkers, and the rest of the nation.