In a statement released yesterday, New York City’s five Republican Party chairmen confirmed what everyone already knows: They don’t have a competitive candidate for mayor who actually wants to run. In a city with six times as many registered Democrats as Republicans, the 2013 field is already plenty full, but tilts entirely to the left. On the other side is a pile of scrubs with tentative-to-no interest, plus NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly, who won’t give anyone a straight answer about whether or not he wants to give it a shot, and on top of that, isn’t even a registered Republican.
The chairmen said they’ve “indicated an interest” in speaking with Kelly, but that their top choice to run is Gristedes billionaire John Catsimatidis. But he’d prefer not to: “I’ve been supporting Ray Kelly,” Catsimatidis told the Times. “I’m in the bullpen if Ray Kelly doesn’t do it.” If neither man makes a move by the fall, the party might be forced to go with little known newspaper publisher Tom Allon, who is currently a registered Democrat.
Other longshots include Mayor Bloomberg’s girlfriend Diana Taylor, former stock exchange chairman Richard Grasso (another Kelly supporter), and two more Democrats, all of whom are sort of sitting around pointing at one another, and hoping Kelly swoops in to save the day. It’s almost like they don’t believe they can win.
Related: The Run-Ray-Run Runaround [NYM]
