Will Curtis Sliwa have any regrets if he wakes up on November 5 and Zohran Mamdani is the new mayor of New York \u2014\u00a0knowing he could have stepped aside and cleared the crowded campaign field that many fear will split the vote? <\/p>\n
\u201cNope,\u201d the Republican candidate told me. <\/p>\n
So he\u2019s not willing to sacrifice his candidacy to save the city he loves from socialism?<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s based on the idea that everyone is going to go over and vote Cuomo. Ain\u2019t happening. They hate Cuomo. I\u2019m in the streets every day. All I hear is \u2018slapping fannies and killing grannies.\u2019 He\u2019s never apologized,\u201d Sliwa said of Andrew Cuomo\u2019s COVID and #MeToo scandals.<\/p>\n
Curtis Sliwa regularly campaigns in the subways he\u2019s patrolled as a Guardian Angel for decades. Debra L Rothenberg\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a new AARP poll shows<\/a> Mamdani\u2019s support at 42% among registered voters; Cuomo is at 23%, fellow independent Adams is at 9%, and Sliwa claims 16%. It would stand to reason the three need to become one to beat the Democratic socialist. <\/p>\n \t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKirsten Fleming<\/p>\n But Sliwa says it isn\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody is getting out. Cuomo isn\u2019t, [Eric] Adams isn\u2019t. Every day there\u2019s a discussion about dropping out, that\u2019s a good day for Mamdani,\u201d Sliwa said.<\/p>\n I met with the 71-year-old at his Midtown campaign headquarters. While he\u2019s been an NYC tabloid figure since the late 1970s, when he launched the civilian crime-fighting group the Guardian Angels, he\u2019s lately been almost unrecognizable \u2014\u00a0taking off his signature red beret<\/a> in meetings to look more like a serious politician.<\/p>\n Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist, is leading the crowded field in the mayoral race. James Keivom<\/p>\n The thing is, I love everything Sliwa has to say, especially about quality-of-life crackdowns. <\/p>\n He wants to cut taxes, ditch congestion pricing and tackle the costly epidemic of fare evasion.<\/p>\n