Parsons Seen Departing, Without a Run

The chief executive of Time Warner, Richard Parsons, is expected to announce his departure from the company as early as this week, but political strategists say it appears unlikely he will try to succeed Mayor Bloomberg at City Hall.

Speculation about the candidacy of Mr. Parsons, a Republican who could use his private sector credentials to cast himself as the next Mr. Bloomberg, is subsiding, they said.

A political consultant, Joseph Mercurio, said the last thing he's heard about Mr. Parsons's oft-discussed political future is that he isn't going to run for mayor. "People were speculating that he was Bloomberg's choice," he said, adding that "everybody stopped asking about him" after a wave of stories appeared in newspapers, including The New York Sun, about the police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, being a potential Republican mayoral candidate.

A GOP political strategist, who asked not to be named because he may represent a candidate in the 2009 mayor's race, said talk about Mr. Kelly as a candidate is dwarfing any rumors about Mr. Parsons entering politics.

"The big name that is in the air is Ray Kelly," he said. "Kelly is the new Parsons." He said Mr. Parsons has indicated he is not interested in running for office. If he were, he'd be working to engender goodwill within the Republican Party by talking to county leaders, attending political dinners, and finding excuses to talk in public, he said.

A report that Mr. Parsons will soon announce he is leaving the company first appeared in Britain's Times Online.