In a new interview with Playboy magazine, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says he felt betrayed by the Democratic mayoral candidates, who he claims used him and the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy as political footballs during their battle for City Hall.
“They all claimed to be friends of mine,” Kelly said of the Democratic candidates, “up until their mayoral campaigns.”
In the Q&A — published in the December issue of the magazine, due out Friday — Kelly says he was offended at seeing his name dragged through the mud by political opportunists.
“I resented it,” he said. “I think I’ve had a long, distinguished career . . . It just goes to show you what some politicians will do. They’ll say or do anything to get elected.”
The commissioner says he had a close relationship with all of the Democratic candidates — including Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson, John Liu and Bill de Blasio — before they turned on him for political gain.
He claims he had even given the politicians advice in the past.
“They’d call me on the phone and ask for information or come over here and sit in this chair and get briefed,” he recalled.
Asked whether he would have worked for any of the Democrats if asked, Kelly simply said, “I don’t want to discuss it.”
In the interview, Kelly also defends some of the most controversial aspects of his 12-year tenure under Mayor Bloomberg.
The commissioner insists that the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy is not race-based and saves lives in the city’s most dangerous communities.
He claims that despite criticism from advocacy groups, he remains popular with city residents.
“I’m not bragging, but I have the highest job-approval rating of any public official,” Kelly told Playboy.
Playboy reported the rating at 75 percent.
“I could take you right now to 125th Street in Harlem, and young men will stop me for my picture and give me a very favorable greeting,” he said. “They understand that we’re saving lives in their community.”
On the anti-terror front, Kelly defends his department’s surveillance of Muslims, while maintaining that the city has averted a number of attacks in the past 10 years.
He says a total of 16 terror attacks, including ones on the subway system, the New York Stock Exchange, Times Square and JFK Airport, were thwarted.
Kelly also tells an amusing anecdote about meeting President George W. Bush, who asked if the commissioner noticed people giving Bush the middle finger.
“They’re just saying you’re Number 1, Mr. President,” Kelly replied.
He also admits to being a fan of Bill and Hillary Clinton. When asked whether Hillary would make a good president, Kelly said she would make “a good anything.”
On the pop-culture front, Kelly says he’s a fan of political wise guys Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.