Session: 1234567891011121314         Page 214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252 of 763

tell you about my darling Mamie. She gave me the impression that it was rather matter-of-fact, and she didn't say, but I got the impression probably from the matter-of-factness with which she discussed it, that it probably was no more than about a half hour, an hour at most. That's beautiful.

You've made a lot of public statements --

-- too damn many. Too many, in terms of the returns.

Yes, so we don't need repetition. One thing I did want to ask you, though -- do I recall correctly that you finally did reverse your position then, on the decentralization issue?

Sure. On the basis of --

And you held a news conference --

-- I don't know whether I held a news conference or not. What did happen was that I was asked to testify before the Charter Revision Committee of Goodman, Senator Goodman, and I was told that it was off the record -- or that, you know, it wasnot going to be publicized. Not that it mattered that much, but I really -- I didn't assume, I was told -- and they were concerned with this whole matter of decentralization of municipal services in general, and they asked me to tell my feeling. And I presume they thought, because I had fought for decentralization, that I still held that position. But there were two or three years of evidence --

All I know is that decentralization just decentralized