Mayor Wagner Weighs Stepping Down

May 29, 1965 - New York Mayor Robert Wagner announced last night that he may not run for a fourth term. He said he would make a final decision within two weeks.

The statement was made by Wagner at Gracie Mansion, where he was pressed for comment on a rumor circulating yesterday that he might not seek re-election.

He said he was still undecided, primarily because of considerations of his family and his health.

“On the one side, there are a number of things I’ve been thinking about — my two boys and the fact that I haven’t been able to be with them as much as I should. I try to be both a father and a mother, and I’d like to give them more of a home life.”

Wagner’s wife, Susan, died early last year. His two sons are Robert 3d, 21, a graduating senior at Harvard, and Duncan, 18, a student at Kent Hills School in Maine.

The 55-year-old Mayor also indicated that he is considering what another term might do to his health, saying: “I know what the mayor’s life is. I’ve been through it for 12 years, and it’s a very grueling one, and I’m not decided that I’d want to face it for another four years of very hard work.

“On the other side is the fact that I enjoy a good fight and have never run away from one, and I’d put a lot of energy into a good campaign.”

He added, “I have been considering this for three or four months.”When reminded that it’s been in the papers for months that he was definitely running for a fourth term, Wagner replied: “I can’t help what’s been in the papers.” He denied that he had had a change of heart in the last few days about running.

This last question was tied to the emergence of Republican Congressman John Lindsay of the 17th (Silk Stocking) district as the Democrats’ foe in next autumn’s fight for the mayor’s post.

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