As I said, I will give him credit, and even in finding a lot of his positions odious, he did something that many thought impossible, and that was making NYC a governable and SAFE city. My family fled NYC in the ‘70s along with a million other people when the worst Mayor in city history, indeed, one of the worst Mayors in U.S. history, John Lindsay, a liberal Republican that was so far to the left he made Giuliani look like Jesse Helms, inflicted massive damage to the city, told untold numbers to get on welfare, and the crime rate exploded beyond all comprehension, and a total breakdown in the social order. Lindsay during his term became a Democrat.
By the early ‘90s, NYC elected David Dinkins, the second worst Mayor in the modern era, and Dinkins allowed the murder rate to skyrocket to atmospheric proportions, well in excess of two THOUSAND per year. The city was dangerous as hell, worse than anything going on in a lot of war-torn regions, a total cesspool and quagmire, people were fleeing the city, and businesses, too.
Rudy first ran against Dinkins in ‘89 and lost. But Dinkins was so horrible that Rudy beat him in a rematch. He proceeded to cut the murder and overall crime rate in one of the most dramatic fashions ever seen. He reduced it to below 1960s levels (I think at one point, the murder rate on Manhattan Island alone dropped into the 100 range, which meant here in my hometown of Nashville, OUR murder rate was over three TIMES that of Manhattan’s, with a third the population).
For all his other problems, it would be a grave injustice not to give the man credit for that. He did that under his leadership. It’s just that I wish he could match that achievement in being right on the other issues, but sadly, he isn’t.
Your family experience describes to a “T” why the suburbs of the West Coast, Midwest, and Northeast trended strongly GOP in the 1980s. During the 60’s and 70’s, the cities became RAT holes. Whites fled the cities for the comfort of the suburbs. Their bad experience in the cities caused them to be wary of the Dems, so they voted for Republicans. Today, the cities are more manageable and livable. As a result, people are having positive experiences with urban life. As a result, the city dwellers are keeping their Dem voting habits where ever they go.