Top state and city Republicans, backed by some of Manhattan’s wealthiest financiers, began last week preparing the legal paperwork, strategy documents and a fund-raising network that will enable Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to run for mayor, The Post has learned.

Former state GOP Chairman William Powers, a key figure in the election of Rudy Giuliani as mayor in 1993, is leading the effort, with the backing of “10 to 15 finance people and others who care about the city’s future,’’ said a source close to the preparations.

“The activities are taking place on two fronts: Create the inevitability that he’s going to run, and then make it easy for him so that the day he retires and announces he’s running, everything will be in place: the campaign apparatus and the money,’’ the source continued.

The source said a prominent election lawyer was hired last week to “get the paperwork ready’’ for Kelly to run for mayor next year.

And while the source said Kelly had not been directly involved in the efforts, he added, “Ray knows what’s going on.
“We still have months to put it all in place, but you’ve got to get the drum beat going — and we have — and begin lining up people for the effort, which we’re doing.”

Kelly’s backers were described as “encouraged’’ after the popular police commissioner repeatedly refused to rule out running for mayor when pressed virtually every day last week — in the wake of The Post’s report last Monday that Powers was organizing an effort to “draft’’ him to enter the race.

Several prominent Democrats have begun lining up to enter the race to succeed Bloomberg, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, former city Comptroller William Thompson and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

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