9/11 group mulls anti-Giuliani campaign

NEW YORK, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- New York firefighters and families who lost relatives on Sept. 11, 2001, are considering campaigning against presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani.

They are considering forming a 527 committee that would run issue ads on the terrorist attacks, ABC News reported. Some of those affected by the attacks believe the former New York mayor is exploiting them in his presidential campaign.

"TV made him a hero, and we'll use TV to take him down," said New York Fire Chief Jim Riches, whose son was killed at the World Trade Center. "We don't want him running on 9/11 or the bodies of all these dead people or my dead son saying that he did a great job that day."

Riches and other members of the group plan to meet Monday at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., taking their message to the state that holds the first primary.

Giuliani's image as a tough and decisive mayor has helped him become a strong contender for the Republican presidential nomination. Critics say he made bad decisions before the attacks, including installing the city's emergency command center in the World Trade Center after being advised against it.