Latest word on Joe Lhota from CBS 2 New York --- “I think at this point he is the Republican primary... if he won he could turn out to be New York City’s Chris Christie”

Leading Republican  Mayoral Candidate Joseph Lhota, Gives Some Of His Views To CBS 2  and  CBS News quotes the outlook of  some,  " If Anyone Scares The New York City Democrats, It’s Joe Lhota..."

CBS 2 - New York posted a report that Joseph  Lhota, was interviewed yesterday.  After making his candidacy official,  "He sat down with CBS 2 political reporter Marcia Kramer to share his views on everything from tolls to tickets to taxes." ( "NEWS  --  Pundit: If Anyone Scares The New York City Democrats, It’s Joe Lhota  --  GOP Mayoral Candidate Breaks Silence, Gives Some Of His Views To CBS 2,"  CBS News, January 18, 2013 10:07 PM [http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/18/pundit-if-anyone-scares-the-new-york-city-democrats-its-joe-lhota/ ]).

CBS 2 reports that "[Lhota] is a frank, law and order kind of guy who minces no words. Take the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk program....  'Anyone who says we should eliminate stop-and-frisk really is putting the city in danger,' Lhota said."

Lhota was equally frank about the matters of tolls, tickets and taxes:   "...[E]ven though he’s a mass transit guy, he said he will not be the one to toll the East River bridges.... [Taxes] should be reduced or eliminated. As for tickets, the Bloomberg administration gives out far too many of them.... I’ve heard the complaints in all five boroughs. Businessmen are outraged at what used to be every now and then enforcement...."

Also  from the Marcia Kramer interview:  "Lhota, who resigned last month as head of the MTA to seek the city’s top job, has both public and private sector experience. He was first deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani....  is a Republican in a heavily Democratic city.... [and he is] fiscally conservative, but he is pro-choice and favors marriage equality. He said he would perform a same-sex marriage if asked."

As important as anything that CBS News reported about what Joe Lhota said about himself is what CBS News says others are saying about him.  "Pundits say his late entry into the race has already changed the multi-candidate Republican primary.  ***  'I think at this point he is the Republican primary,' Baruch College’s Micheline Blum said. ***  And his candidacy has also shaken up the Democrats at a time when the party thought it would finally have a chance of taking City Hall after 20 years of GOP victories. ***  'I certainly think Joe Lhota scares the Democratic candidates a whole lot more than any other Republican,' Blum said."

CBS  2 closed its Marcia Kramer report on Republican Mayoral Candidate Joseph Lhota with this very interesting comparison:  "Lhota is also known for bluntly speaking his mind. After Hurricane Sandy, for example, he called Mayor Michael Bloomberg an idiot. Some, including political expert Blum, think that if he won he could turn out to be New York City’s Chris Christie."