As the next presidential election approaches, more and more people will visit Iowa.

I’ve been to caucuses and meetings in your state several times in years past.

I was even the guest speaker at one of the first state gatherings for the women’s political caucus ages ago.

Rudy Giuliani comes to you this week to tell how he has brought civility back to New York when in fact, he may be the most uncivil mayor New York City has ever had.

We have crowded streets and subway trains filled with people from all over the world.

A normal junior high school has pupils from 70 different countries speaking 90 languages.

But still the expression most often used is “excuse me” or “pardon me.”

Giuliani rules unilaterally with disdain for critics.

He refuses to share information, he ignores facts and bends the truth.

More cases have been brought to court by newspapers, radio and television stations and public officials to make him share public records and information than ever before.

He insists on calling critics left-wingers, lefties, reactionaries, whiners, hand-wringers, alarmists, stupid, malicious, vicious and so on. His language lowers the civility of the city.

The other day, he called General McCaffrey, the president’s drug counselor, a “disaster and a disgrace.”

Before elected, his language and behavior was fawning.

He has closed City Hall to the public, barricading with concrete barriers and refusing parade permits to groups he doesn’t like.

In a city of many colors, he plainly dreads those who are not white.

The record of police shooting and brutalizing people of color is attracting international attention.

He screams that this is how you cut down crime.

He has incurred millions of dollars of police overtime because he uses his army of police at public functions — even at the World Series.

He wants to spend a billion dollars of public money to build a new stadium on the west side.

He used cheap tactics to keep a referendum about moving the Yankee Stadium to Manhattan off the ballot this past election.

The number of poor people receiving Medicaid and food stamps has decreased so much that federal officials are in New York City to investigate his procedures.

He started as a prosecutor, and that’s what he remains. If they are helpless, he bullies.

He over penalizes immigrant taxi drivers, incarcerates people for misdemeanors until they’re proven innocent, lectures, admonishes and threatens community groups.

Senior citizen centers, youth programs, legal and rent assistance programs are afraid to speak up for fear that their contracts with the city will be canceled. This is a man who says he’s above party politics.

He touted fusion politics when it was convenient. When he wanted Democrats to support him he told us he was once a McGovern Democrat and supported Mario Cuomo.

Today, he’s a Republican. But he really is an opportunistic autocrat.

People of Iowa are very important in the presidential election.

All the country watches you. Please watch the speakers carefully, and especially beware of Rudy Giuliani.

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Ronnie M. Eldridge

Member

City Council of the City of New York