When it came to removing government’s heavy handprint from the private sector, Giuliani was just as merciless, privatizing many elements of New York City’s bulky bureaucracy. From maintenance of the city parks, to water meter reading, to the city’s homeless shelters, Giuliani relegated these responsibilities and many others to private sector companies. He sold many entities he felt the city had no business owning — why in the world did New York City own off-track betting facilities? — and turned over thousands of city-owned properties to private owners and developers

And though Giuliani began his mayoral career opposed to school choice, he soon became a passionate advocate for competition in the education market. Though he was ultimately unsuccessful in forcing even a pilot school vouchers program on his liberal city council and education board, he certainly deserves credit for trying.

To be sure, this lengthy list of accomplishments is stained by a much smaller list of anti-growth positions. Giuliani has long been a supporter of McCain-Feingold, and refused to reconsider his support as recently as December of 2006 in an interview with radio host Dennis Prager. He was a firm opponent of NAFTA in 1993, claiming the trade deal would prove harmful to New York City jobs, a strange position given New York City’s status as the financial capital of the country, if not the world. He strenuously opposed any attempt to weaken rent control in New York City despite its proven distortion on the marketplace — a position he probably took because of its popularity among his constituents. Though little is known about his stance on the 2003 Medicare prescription-drug plan, he voiced support for the new government program in April of 2006.

On other issues, Rudy Giuliani’s positions are simply unknown, a result of the local nature of his job. Giuliani has made vague reference to his support for personal Social Security accounts and his support for free trade, but has yet to elaborate on how these two issues fit into his overall philosophy or what he would do about them if he were to win the presidency. His record on tort reform as mayor is mixed. Would he seek to limit frivolous lawsuits as president, despite his suit again the gun industry as mayor? Would he seek to impose further restrictions on free speech, or would he veto further restrictions if they came across his desk?

These are important questions and criticisms. Over the coming months, Rudy Giuliani will have to address these issues, elaborate on the unknowns, and explain, even reconsider, some of his most egregious positions. These indiscretions though, are modest in scale compared to his accomplishments.

Despite powerful local obstacles, Giuliani was able to significantly cut taxes; hold spending increases down below the rates of inflation and population growth; overhaul the welfare system; deregulate and privatize many local government services; and join the fight for school choice. These accomplishments played a crucial role in transforming New York City from an economic basket case into a thriving economy.

The most important question is what Giuliani’s mayoral tenure tells us about how he would govern if elected president. The answer is not clear cut, as some of his local positions are worrisome and some of his federal positions are still unknown. Nonetheless, one cannot help but conclude that if Giuliani could accomplish the pro-growth record he did in the hostile environment of New York City, the potential for him to accomplish even more amid the more politically balanced federal government is great.