In 1993, I was the Conservative Party candidate for mayor of New York. I ran against Mayor David Dinkins and the candidate of the Republican and Liberal parties, Rudy Giuliani, because I believed it was important to promote common sense fiscal, education and public safety policies that could save a city in crisis. While I had no chance of winning, my presence in the race pushed Giuliani to the right. He subsequently adopted policies I advocated: “broken windows” policing and responsible fiscal management. Centrist policies pursued by Mayors Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg between 1994 and 2013 put New York on...