Joseph Lhota. Photo by Buck Ennis
MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota, who is considering a run for mayor as a Republican, turned up last night at the campaign kickoff of a Queens Democrat.
Mr. Lhota even spoke to the crowd at the event for Queens Democratic Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who announced he is running for Queens borough president at a Christmas party at Mr. Vallone’s law firm in Astoria.
“He did speak, but it wasn’t a campaign speech,” Mr. Vallone said.
Of course, Mr. Vallone is no ordinary partisan Democrat; in fact, he is one of the most conservative members of the City Council. Mr. Vallone said he does not know Mr. Lhota well, but that the MTA chairman does know his father, former Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. from Mr. Lhota’s days in the Giuliani administration.
“He was one of Guiliani’s top guys,” said Vallone Jr., whose father played an often overlooked role in the city’s turnaround during the 1990s. “They didn’t always agree, but they were always friendly.”
Mr. Lhota’s attendance at a campaign-related event comes as speculation ramps up in the business community about whether he will run for mayor; Mr. Lhota even raised the possibility at a meeting with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Democratic mayoral contenders Bill Thompson and Bill de Blasio also attended Mr. Vallone’s Christmas bash.
Clarification: After this article was posted, Mr. Vallone called back to say he actually had called Mr. Lhota one of the Guiliani administration’s “top guys,” not “tough guys.”