Friends of Rudy Giuliani are launching a campaign to draft MTA boss Joe Lhota to run for mayor, sources said yesterday.
“They want to draft Lhota. Lhota is a great guy. He would be a great mayor,” said former Staten Island Borough President and GOP power broker Guy Molinari.
Molinari said he has been contacted by mutual allies of the former mayor and Lhota to consider backing a potential Lhota candidacy.
Lhota, a Republican, was a top deputy to Giuliani at City Hall.
Manhattan Republican leader Dan Isaacs said he welcomed Lhota to join the fray. “No one can dispute that he’s competent and has tremendous experience in city government,” Isaacs said.
Lhota, who testified before Congress yesterday about getting transit funds to recover from Hurricane Sandy, said, “The time will come when I make a decision . . . Right now, my number-one focus is to get the MTA back up and running again. It’s not there yet.”
Lhota would be wise to decide soon. Several GOP county leaders are strongly considering backing Democrat Adolfo Carrión, a former Bronx borough president, to run on the Republican line.