Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota said Wednesday that he began having "discussions" about running for office as early as last June, just months after he was sworn in as MTA chief. But Lhota said he made no decision until after Sandy.

"There were discussions in June, July and August," Lhota told WNYC's Brian Lehrer. " I had been considering a run, people had approached me on the republican side, I didn't give it a whole lot of serious thought until after Sandy."

The former head of the MTA didn't name names, but he said among those who spoke to him were national Republicans, and former and current elected officials in New York City and Albany

Lhota was approved as MTA chief in January 2012.  

"I want to be mayor because as I looked at all the other candidates that were running for mayor, I thought that my background and my experience in the Giuliani administration, at the MTA and, most importantly, in the private sector really fit what the city needs going forward," Lhota said. 

He said his opponents had never run a complex organization before. "Running City Council is one thing. Running the Public Advocates' office is another thing, being the city comptroller — but it's not about leadership, it's not about management, and it's clearly not about making decisions."