Declaring that Mayor Rudolph Giuliani could be easily defeated by a determined and focused opponent, former Mayor David Dinkins said Wednesday that he was considering challenging Giuliani.
Dinkins said that he had been asked by several longtime admirers - he would not identify them, beyond calling them "big fans of mine" - to return to political life.Dinkins, who barely lost to Giuliani in 1993, said they argued that he was the only Democrat with the credentials and gumption to defeat Giuliani in November.
Dinkins said he had first rejected the idea, preferring to endorse one of the four Democrats already in the field, all of whom have been jockeying for his support. But Dinkins, who will turn 70 in July and is the host of a radio show and teaching an urban policy course at Columbia University, said that in the face of continuing entreaties, he had agreed to at least consider it.
"They said, `Well, think about it,' " Dinkins said. "So I'll think about it."
Dinkins' remarks caught some of his oldest advisers by surprise, and a few of them were skeptical that he would ultimately decide to get back into politics.
"I think the big thing, the main thing is the guy is beatable," Dinkins said, in the course of two extensive telephone conversations in which he sought to dismember both Giuliani's record and the political perception that he will be difficult to beat. "Even people who would like to see him defeated have bought into this argument: that crime is down, that everyone is happy. It's not nearly that simple.
"There are a number of anti-Giuliani people who need heart," Dinkins said. "I think through fear and intimidation he's been able to keep a lot of folks in line."