NEW YORK -- Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who is barred by term limits from running for re-election this fall, is exploring the possibility of staying in office after his term expires, a source close to the mayor told The Associated Press on Monday.
Giuliani, widely praised for his handling of the city since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was expected to make an announcement Monday, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"He is going to make an announcement about his efforts to continue his term," said the source.
The source said the mayor has talked to advisers about what it would it take, legally and politically, to stay in office past his ordinary term, which ends at the end of the year. The discussions involved extending his term, not necessarily trying to seek another full four-year term in office.
The source said that, as of this morning, the mayor had not said what his decision would be.
Giuliani is scheduled to leave office Dec. 31 because of term-limit laws. It was unclear whether the mayor would try to have those laws amended so voters could elect him for a third term or whether he would try to extend his current term.
The mayoral primary, which was postponed after the terrorist attacks, is now set for Tuesday. It was originally set for Sept. 11 but was called after the terrorist strikes against New York.
For Giuliani to be eligible to continue serving beyond a second term, the Legislature and Republican Gov. George Pataki would have to enact emergency legislation to extend his term, or the City Council and city voters would have to amend the City Charter.
Neither scenario is likely because mayoral candidate and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone - as well as top legislative leaders - have said they do not want to override city voters, who enacted the term limits law in 1993 and again in 1996.
A bid to repeal term limits failed in the City Council at committee level in March. Giuliani was a strong supporter of term limits when they were first considered in the early 1990s.
The mayoral election is Nov. 6.
Vallone, Public Advocate Mark Green, Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer and Comptroller Alan Hevesi also are seeking the Democratic nomination. Media owner Michael Bloomberg and former congressman Herman Badillo are seeking the Republican nomination.
Giuliani's popularity has skyrocketed since two hijacked jets slammed into the World Trade Center and left the city's famed complex in rubble.
After barely escaping with his own life from a building adjacent to the twin towers, he calmly informed his fellow New Yorkers that the death toll would be "more than any of us could bear." More than 6,400 are missing and feared dead.
The mayor has worked around the clock, holding news conferences in between visits to the disaster site, funerals and meetings to coordinate the response.
Over eight years, the Republican mayor steered the city into an era of lower crime and prosperity, but his often combative style irritated and alienated many New Yorkers.
While the relationship between Giuliani and the city's minority community has always been shaky, a series of fatal police shootings of unarmed black men in 1999 and 2000 fractured what trust had been built.
The mayor ran for Senate from New York last year against Hillary Rodham Clinton but dropped out of the race six months before the election amid revelations that he had prostate cancer and a girlfriend. A nasty divorce ensued.
