NEW YORK—Following weeks of speculation, Joseph Lhota, ex-chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, officially announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City.
Lhota opened up his official mayoral candidacy twitter feed Thursday morning, @JoeLhota4Mayor, and made his announcement, “It’s official. @joelhota is a candidate to be the 109th Mayor of NYC following filings w BD of Elections and NYCCFB.”
Lhota followed up in the afternoon with a link to his official mayoral candidacy website, writing, “I love this City – I love its diversity and optimism, and the opportunity it represents. But the very things I love about New York City are fragile and must be protected.”
Lhota, who will run as a Republican, will be competing against the City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, former Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., Manhattan Media owner Tom Allon, and scandal-plagued Comptroller John Liu.
Following Hurricane Sandy, Lhota was praised for how he handled the recovery of New York’s subway system after being decimated by the storm. Lhota has since received harsh criticism for the MTA fare hike, which will raise the single ride fare from $2.25 to $2.50 and a monthly pass from $104 to $112 in March.
The citywide elections, which will include City Council, comptroller, and borough president seats in addition to the mayor seat, will be held Nov. 6, 2013.
With additional reporting by Benjamin Chasteen
