Will Raymond W. Kelly Run for Mayor? One Candidate Tires of Talk In New York City political circles, it is the question that will not go away: Will Raymond W. Kelly, the popular police commissioner, throw his blue cap into the ring and run for mayor? Rumors of his candidacy have circulated in the tabloids for weeks. Top city Republicans, who still lack a prominent candidate for City Hall, are salivating over the prospect. And no one seems cowed by Mr. Kelly's self-professed lack of interest. But there is at least one prominent political figure who is tired of the speculation - the current and former mayoral contender William C. Thompson Jr. In an interview on Thursday, Mr. Thompson, a former city comptroller who narrowly lost the election to Michael R. Bloomberg in 2009, conveyed a blunt question to Mr. Kelly: are you in or out? "It really is time for the police commissioner to make a choice," Mr. Thompson said. It is a question of: are you either police commissioner or a candidate for mayor? You have to make a decision. You can't do both. Mr. Thompson, a Democrat whose own nascent mayoral campaign has been criticized as sluggish, said he was concerned that Mr. Kelly had become embroiled in "a political soap opera." "The police commissioner is supposed to remain above the political fray," Mr. Thompson said. He needs to stay focused on fighting crime, not seeking political favors for a potential campaign. A Police Department spokesman for Mr. Kelly, Paul J. Browne, rejected the charge that Mr. Kelly had been distracted. "Individuals proposing his candidacy have done so independently of Commissioner Kelly, who has said consistently that he is focused exclusively on his duties as police commissioner," Mr. Browne wrote in an e-mail. Mr. Kelly's name is perennially bandied about as a City Hall possibility. But speculation intensified last month after he agreed to meet with Staten Island Republicans who are urging him to run. This week, the five New York City Republican county chairmen issued a statement expressing "an interest in talking with Ray Kelly." The uncertainty has not gone over well with Mr. Thompson, who said of Mr. Kelly, "It's important that he make that decision quickly." Still, Mr. Thompson said he thought Mr. Kelly had "done a very good job" as police commissioner. And he said he would welcome Mr. Kelly as a candidate in the race. Asked if, as mayor, he would install a new police commissioner, Mr. Thompson demurred, saying, "I don't think that's part of this issue."