-Caveat Lector- July 9, 2001, 1:44PM New York's "Subway Gunman" runs for mayor By ELLEN WULFHORST Reuters NEW YORK -- He's got name recognition any politician would envy, his views need little publicity, and plenty of New Yorkers do a double take when they see him in the street. All that could be immensely helpful in a campaign to be mayor of New York, except that this candidate is Bernhard Goetz. The so-called Subway Gunman -- who shot four teen-agers on a grimy train in an incident so controversial it still sparks heated debate 17 years later -- is running for mayor. Goetz, seen by some as a frightened New Yorker fending off assailants and by others as a vengeful vigilante, has a petition drive to get on the ballot, a detailed position platform and a bernieformayor.com website. But he said in an interview that being mayor really isn't his goal, perhaps a reasonable sentiment given his chances. "I don't want to be mayor. You have to put up with a lot of stupidity," he said. The plan, he said, would be to appoint Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who is barred by law from a third term, to keep running New York City. He said Giuliani, under whose watch the city's murder rate has dropped to levels not seen since the early 1960s, is the city's best mayor in decades. Goetz rose to fame, or "sunk to notoriety" as he puts it, when, three days before Christmas 1984, he shot four youths he said were trying to rob him on a downtown Manhattan subway. The youths, all of whom had arrest records and three of whom were carrying screwdrivers, said they were panhandling. In the huge public debate that ensued, supporters said he was the crime victim who finally fought back. Critics said he was a racist who took justice into his own hands. Goetz is white, the youths black. Goetz was acquitted of attempted murder but served eight months in jail for illegal gun possession. On the city's streets, people still turn and stare as they recognize the tall, thin Goetz from countless newspaper photographs, his eyes like those of a skittish deer in car headlights. He lives alone in the same building as he did then, speaks softly with an edgy, nervous energy and still works as a self-employed electronics technician. "I have all kinds of people in the street stopping me, telling me I should have killed all four of those guys," he said. "And I've had people on the street screaming I'm a fascist. "In a city as large as New York, you're guaranteed to have lots and lots of people who have stupid opinions," he said. "I think a lot of people in New York have their heads up their rear," he said in the interview in a New York diner. Goetz said he's gotten some responses to his web-based solicitation for campaign volunteers and crank letters from only one person. He's also attracted the attention of morning radio talk show host Howard Stern, who recently aired what he proposed as good campaign jingles for the subway shooter. "He's the best candidate we've got," went one of the jingles. "Let's give Bernie another shot." It may not be a popular sentiment. "His day has come and gone," declared former Mayor Ed Koch, who was mayor in 1984 and condemned the incident as "vigilantism." Ron Kuby, attorney for Darrell Cabey, the youth left permanently wounded by the shooting, joked that Goetz would be "the perfect successor" to Giuliani. "If there's one man who can carry on the legacy of racism and intolerance and just plain explosiveness, it's Bernie Goetz," said Kuby, who misses few opportunities to criticize the mayor on the radio talk show he co-hosts with Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. Cabey won a $43 million civil settlement against Goetz in 1997. Kuby said the Cabey family has been unable to collect any of the money; Goetz claims they haven't tried. Goetz faces a battle against the six major candidates -- Public Advocate Mark Green, Comptroller Alan Hevesi, City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, all Democrats, and Republicans financial mogul Michael Bloomberg and former Congressman Herman Badillo. And he faces a battle against his past. But he voices no remorse and calls his critics "stupid people." "The victim does not have the choice of picking the color of his assailant," he said. "I shot them. They were not shot because they were black. They were shot because they were in the process of doing a robbery." But though the topic makes his voice take on a slightly steely tone, Goetz can make light of the incident that has guaranteed him a lifetime of notoriety. Sitting in a diner near a noisy milkshake blender that kept interrupting his interview responses, Goetz raised a finger and pointed an imaginary gun at the diner counterman. "If I had a gun, I'd shoot him," he said softly, with a slight twinkle in his eye. This article is: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/politics/963705 <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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