Mayor Giuliani believes Alan Hevesi has been getting a “free pass” in the race for City Hall – something the mayor single-handedly tried to put an end to when he assailed the city comptroller’s ethics just three weeks before the Democratic primary.
“I don’t know why there’s a great reluctance to look at Alan Hevesi,” Giuliani said yesterday. “He always seemed like a somewhat protected person . . . For some reason, he gets a free pass.”
City Hall insiders say Giuliani “never trusted” Hevesi and felt betrayed when he blocked the awarding of city welfare contracts in 1999 and screamed corruption – and no one was ever charged.
“Rudy doesn’t like [Mark] Green’s policies. This thing with Alan is more personal,” said one insider.
To hear Hevesi’s allies tell it, Giuliani is desperate to stop the comptroller because he’s afraid he’ll make such a good mayor that Giuliani won’t be able to unseat him four years from now.
“I just assume he’s afraid in some ways of him being mayor,” said teachers-union chief Randi Weingarten, one of Hevesi’s leading supporters.
Hevesi’s backers also say it would be very tough for Giuliani to beat a “Democrat from Queens” if he decided to seek a third term in four years. Term limits bar the mayor from running again this year.
The mayor, who has a good relationship with City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, insists he’s just calling them as he sees them.
“I have no idea who it benefits [politically]. I really don’t care,” he said.
Giuliani has escalated his feud with Hevesi this week, repeatedly attacking Hevesi for setting up a meeting for one of his big campaign contributors that could have led to a lucrative business deal.
Hevesi has had his share of bitter run-ins with Giuliani over the years, but their relationship seemed to fall apart earlier this year when Hevesi’s campaign aired an ad suggesting the NYPD is guilty of racial profiling – a claim that infuriated the mayor.