He cut his political teeth working on John Lindsay's campaign to become mayor of New York in the 1960s and now that London is to have its own United States-style mayor perhaps former Governor Chris Patten would be the ideal man to fill the role.
Walkabouts in Tower Hamlets would substitute for glad-handing in Mongkok. He would have an assembly similar to Legco to answer to. Why, his constituency in London at around five million voters would not be all that different from that he left behind in Hong Kong albeit substantially more democratic.
Tony Blair's government this week announced plans for a new mayor for London, a post which will emulate the all powerful big personality role of US city mayors.
Of course there has always been a mayor of the City of London but his has been a largely symbolic role.
No, this new title will be one with teeth for all of what we used to call Greater London. It will encompass strategic planning and policy making, bringing together the multifarious organisations currently operating at government level in London under one umbrella. The mayor will be paid at cabinet-minister rank.
Margaret Thatcher scrapped the old Greater London Council (GLC) in 1986 and since then there has been no overall authority for London, merely a group of 32 disparate borough councils jockeying for resources from central government, rivalling each other in the way they govern.