Lhota Scores Conservative Party Nod In Mayor's Race

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Former transit official Joe Lhota has gotten the Conservative Party's choice for New York City mayor. That gives Lhota a spot on November's ballot regardless what happens in his quest for the Republican nomination.

The party announced its pick Monday. Chairman Mike Long points to Lhota's career managing complex organizations.

Lhota is currently the front-runner among several Republican candidates.

He formerly ran the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and he was a deputy mayor in the Giuliani administration. Lhota also was an executive at the company that runs Madison Square Garden.

The Conservative Party counts a fairly small number of voters - 21,500 - in the nation's biggest city. But it has a ballot line, meaning Lhota is guaranteed to appear among voters' choices at the polls.

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