Lhota rounds up GOP support from pols citywide
Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota has been racking up support from GOP lawmakers throughout the boroughs, just days after former Gov. George Pataki endorsed rival candidate and supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis.
The GOP delegation of the City Council came out for Lhota on Tuesday.
Councilman Dan Halloran said, “No incoming mayor will have had as much experience upon entering office as Joe Lhota does right now,” and Councilman Eric Ulrich based his endorsement on the belief that Lhota’s “hands-on approach and common sense ideas” are right for his middle-class constituents in Queens.
Councilman Vincent Ignizo pointed to the specific case of Fresh Kills Landfill, crediting Lhota with fulfilling then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s promise to close it.
The fourth member of the delegation, Staten Island councilman Jimmy Oddo, said simply that Lhota is “by far the superior candidate in the Republican primary.”
Bronx County GOP Chairman Jay Savino and the executive committee of the Bronx County Republican Committee have also placed their support behind Lhota, after a Monday night meeting that Savino said “provided [us] an opportunity to learn more about Joe on a variety of topics.”
“An open and honest exchange” apparently proved to the committee members that Lhota’s “proven leadership, in and outside of government, is exactly what New York City needs.”
Last week, two hours after former candidate Tom Allon dropped out of the race, reporters crashed a lunch Allon and Lhota were having in Midtown.
Lhota and Allon denied the lunch signaled an endorsement by Allon, calling the timing of the apparently long-standing meeting “happenstance.”
But Allon did credit Lhota with much of his decision to drop out.
“One of the reasons I felt comfortable jumping out of the race is because I knew Joe jumped in,” Allon said. “I feel that voters have a good choice now.”
When asked if he would be willing to offer Allon a spot in his potential administration as Catsimatidis had, Lhota responded, “It’s illegal to do that.”
Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat
