Giuliani Talks Up a Sagging Simon

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani tried Sunday to help Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon Jr. recover from falsely accusing Gov. Gray Davis last week of illegal fund-raising.

“Bill understood this was a mistake, and he acknowledged it,” Giuliani told reporters after a Simon campaign rally in Burbank. “And now you’ve got to move on.”

Giuliani, the star attraction at Simon fund-raisers Saturday in San Jose and Sunday in San Diego and Fresno, recalled that he made “lots of mistakes” in his mayoral campaigns.

“It didn’t have any impact on how I governed, or what I was able to do as the mayor,” Giuliani said.

Simon acknowledged last week that he made a mistake by saying a photograph was proof that Davis had illegally accepted campaign money in the state Capitol; it turned out the photo was shot at a private home. On Sunday, Simon said it was “time to move on” to other issues.

Giuliani’s visit to California was not just to stump for Simon. He is also promoting his new book, “Leadership,” with signings Sunday in Pasadena and today in San Francisco, where he has scheduled another stop with Simon.

Simon is one of several dozen Republicans around the country for whom Giuliani has campaigned in recent months. Among them are Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and North Carolina Senate candidate Elizabeth Hanford Dole.

In addition to helping fellow Republicans, Giuliani is also accumulating political goodwill among donors and party leaders who could assist him if he runs for public office again. Giuliani, 58, says he “would most likely return to public service,” according to Matt Mahoney, deputy director of the Friends of Giuliani political action committee.

Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the Davis reelection campaign, used the former mayor’s visit to question Simon’s record as a prosecutor who worked for Giuliani in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office.

“It’s unfortunate that Mr. Simon didn’t learn his lesson when he was working with Mr. Giuliani,” he said. “Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have gone through this entire episode last week of accusing the governor of a crime without checking his facts. I doubt Mr. Giuliani is proud of his protege in that effort.”

But Giuliani vouched for Simon’s character at the Burbank hotel rally.

“If you’re looking for someone of impeccable integrity, directness, honesty, you couldn’t have a better person than Bill Simon,” Giuliani said.