Herbert London

Herbert I. London (born 1939) is an American conservative activist, commentator, author, and academic. London was the president of the Hudson Institute from 1997 to 2011. He is a frequent columnist for The Washington Times. London is president of the London Center for Policy Research, a conservative think tank hosted at The King's College in New York City, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Personal life and education

London was born in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York on March 6, 1939. At 6'5", he was a star basketball player, leading Jamaica High School to a city championship. London recorded several pop songs, achieving a modest hit record in 1959 with "Sorry We're Not Going Steady." One of his three daughters is Stacy London, former host of the TV show What Not to Wear and current host of Love, Lust, or Run.

London attended Columbia University and studied under Jacques Barzun. He graduated from Columbia in 1960 and obtained a Ph.D. in history at New York University in 1966.

Professional life

London started working at New York University after getting his doctorate there. He was responsible for creating NYU's "University Without Walls" in 1972. UWW was part of a new trend in American higher education to provide inter-disciplinary and out-of-the-classroom learning. UWW changed its name to the Gallatin Division in 1976. Gallatin students design their own curricula and do not have any required courses. Gallatin later added a focus on the study of great books. London directed the program from its inception until 1992. After retiring as a dean, London became the John M. Olin Professor of Humanities at NYU. The Gallatin Division was renamed the Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 1995.

President of Hudson Institute from 1997 until 2011, London is currently President Emeritus. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for the American University at the Manhattan Institute and Chairman of the National Association of Scholars. In February 2013, London joined the Board of Advisors of the Coalition to Reduce Spending.

Political campaigns

London enrolled as a Republican in New York in 1978. He is considered a conservative maverick, at various times joining and at other times criticizing the New York State Republican Party.

1989 Mayoral Race

Main article: New York City mayoral election, 1989

In 1989, London entered the race for both the Conservative Party and Republican Party nominations for Mayor of New York City. Ronald Lauder was endorsed by the Conservatives and London dropped out of the Republican primary.

1990 Gubernatorial Race

Main article: New York gubernatorial election, 1990

London was the Conservative Party nominee for Governor of New York in 1990. The party broke from recent practice and declined to cross-endorse the Republican nominee, the Canada-born businessman Pierre Rinfret. Conservatives leaders cited Rinfret's more centrist positions on abortion and tax and spending policies. London finished one percentage point behind Rinfret, 827,614 votes to 865,948, but they split the conservative vote which allowed Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo to be easily re-elected to his third term.

1994 Comptroller's Race

Main article: New York Comptroller elections § 1994

See also: New York gubernatorial election, 1994 § Republican

Soon after the 1990 election, London began campaigning for the Republican nomination in the 1994 Governor's race, which turned out to have no clear front-runner. The main reason was that U.S. Senator Al D'Amato kept hinting he would run for the nomination and if he did, he would be the presumptive favorite. London became the first formally announced candidate to take on incumbent Mario Cuomo, declaring for both the Republican and Conservative parties' nomination in October 1993.

Republican and Conservative leaders were resolved to support the same candidate to avoid splitting the conservative vote as in 1990. D'Amato preferred State Senator George Pataki, but State Senate majority leader Ralph J. Marino held a grudge against Pataki, London and others who tried to oust Marino in the 1992 primary. However, Marino supported London through the Republican Party convention, where London couldn't gain enough supporters to automatically be placed on the G.O.P. primary ballot.

During that convention, Republican leaders convinced London to drop out of the Governor's race in favor of accepting the party's nomination for state Comptroller. Prior to London being offered the Comptroller's nomination, Assemblyman John Faso was considered the frontrunner for the nomination. London went on to face interim Democratic Comptroller Carl McCall.

The race was notable in part for the controversy created when the candidate's identities, Jewish for London and black for McCall, became a focal point of the campaign. Then, in the week before the election, a statement was issued by 50 leading members of the Democratic Party in New York, condemning London for launching racist attacks against McCall. Two Manhattan Republicans withdrew their support for London, while Mayor Rudy Giuliani stuck with his endorsement of London.

McCall defeated London in the election, 52% to 46%, becoming the first black candidate elected to statewide office in New York. McCall had out-raised London $3.6 million to $543,000. London's criticism of Pataki and his attack ads against McCall were seen as negatively affecting his performance in the race.

Books

• (with Jed Babbin)
• (with Edwin S. Rubenstein)
• List of books authored at Google Books

External links

• Personal website
• London Center for Policy Research website
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Party political offices
Preceded by Andrew O'Rourke	Conservative Nominee for Governor of New York 1990	Succeeded by George Pataki
Preceded by Edward Regan	Republican and Conservative Nominee for New York State Comptroller 1994	Succeeded by Bruce Blakeman