When leadership really counted

It was election night, November 1993.

New York City was a cesspool of filth and violent crime and had become the murder capital of the United States. Rudy Giuliani had just been elected mayor and I was clearing the stage as he was about to make his entrance onto the stage at the New York Hilton for his victory speech.

I had known him for close to two years at that point and was confident that he would be good for New York City, but I had no idea how good. In fact, I could not have predicted what the next eight years would look like, but knew in my heart that things were about to change.

From the second he took his oath of office; he was focused on one primary thing and that was crime. He knew that no one wanted to live in the city, or come to visit, or work, and come to go to school if they didn’t feel safe, and with 2,200 murders, young mothers were putting their babies to bed in bathtubs, afraid of random gunfire.

Giuliani appointed Bill Bratton out of Boston as his first police commissioner with a mandate: Reduce violent crime and murder and do so from the top down – meaning violent crime, and from the bottom up – begin enforcing quality of life crimes that had not been enforced in years.

He put more cops on the streets, more money into the courts and correction department, and told the police department to do the job it was supposed to do.

Over the next eight years during Rudy Giuliani’s term in office, violent crime dropped close to 65% and murder dropped by 70%. In the most violent communities which were predominantly black, the murder rate dropped by close to 80%.

For every percentage point we achieved reductions in violent crime, there were increases in economic development, real estate values and tourism, and New York City had gone from the “Rotten Apple,” to the “Capital of the World,” in an historic renaissance never achieved before in any city in America.

Then came 9/11 – we were under attack.

From the moment the mayor met me at the base of Tower II of the World Trade Center just minutes after the second plane slammed through the north side of the south tower, he took control and command of what was a war zone.

Standing at Ground Zero, at what would come to be known as the first real battle ground in our 20-year global war on terror, Rudy Giuliani was a pillar of strength for the nation, a battlefield commander, and a compassionate leader who brought the city and country together in a way that I have yet to see in any other man-made or natural crisis in our country.

As I watch from the cheap seats today of our country in chaos, with mayors and governors who have allowed their cities and states to be overrun by Marxist anarchists, who have injured more than 1,000 police officers, killed dozens of innocent people and engaged in violent crime, arson and looting that has resulted hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and devastation, I have yet to see one of those governors or mayors with the leadership skills and courage as I have the honor to witness in Rudy Giuliani.

Rudy Giuliani stands as a one-of-a-kind leader, who was fair but firm, who led by example, and who achieved historic results when others said it couldn’t be done. Hopefully, there are other mayors and governors out there in the shadows who will step up to the plate, but until then, cities like New York City, Chicago, Baltimore, Minneapolis and so many others will continue to decline.

Only time will tell. Strength and Honor, Bernard B. Kerik

As New York City’s 40th Police Commissioner, Bernard Kerik was in command of the NYPD on September 11, 2001, and responsible for the city’s response, rescue, recovery, and the investigative efforts of the most substantial terror attack in world history. His 35-year career has been recognized in more than 100 awards for meritorious and heroic service, including a presidential commendation for heroism by President Ronald Reagan, two Distinguished Service Awards from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, The Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and an appointment as Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.