The fast-approaching choice for mayor between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani is a choice between two very different versions of New York and Curtis Sliwa could do a great service to the city if he allows for that decision to be made clearly and cleanly. He needs to make the honorable, but tough, decision and withdraw.
Sliwa has had his fun, including being the wisecrack king of last week’s debate, but now he needs to do what is best for the city he loves and step aside to give New Yorkers a clear one-on-one choice between socialist Mamdani and centrist Cuomo.
That’s been our attitude since Mayor Adams withdrew and now it’s been joined by John Catsimatidis, one of the Republican Party’s biggest players and the owner of WABC radio, where Sliwa has had a show for decades.
On his own station Monday morning, Catsimatidis said: “Curtis would make the best mayor of all the candidates … but Curtis has to realize that he should love New York more than anything else.” He wants Sliwa to make the hard choice: “It certainly looks like Curtis should pull out right now. We cannot take a chance on Zohran winning and every common-sense New Yorker feels the same way.” Radio host Sid Rosenberg agreed.
This is backed up by facts, with a new poll sponsored by AARP that shows a two-man race of Mamdani narrowly ahead of Cuomo, 44.6% to 40.7%, with the rest undecided, mostly among older voters. In other words, a real contest, on the eve of the final debate Wednesday night and early voting starting on Saturday.
Sliwa has been having a good time in this campaign, his second outing for City Hall, having been shellacked four years ago. He has nothing to lose, because he has nothing to win.
He enjoyed the first debate, in which the moderators too often cut off the candidates, trashing both Cuomo and Mamdani as peas in a pod, Cuomo the “architect” and Mamdani the “apprentice.” While that’s clever rhetoric, it is not true. Cuomo and Mamdani are vastly different in experience and outlook. Everyone knows that, including both Cuomo and Mamdani.
Catsimatidis has his own experience with this. After he lost the Republican primary to Joe Lhota in 2013, he could have continued in the general election against Democrat Bill de Blasio on an independent ballot line. But Catsimatidis did the honorable thing and withdrew to clear the field. By the way, Lhota is now backing Cuomo.
This is not the same as the calls for Joe Biden to step aside last year, because that was to replace him on the ballot. This is to give millions of New Yorkers an unfiltered choice to elect the next mayor.
Cuomo wants that chance. Mamdani does not, and he wants Sliwa to remain. Brooklyn Councilman Chi Ossé, a DSA member and Mamdani ally, is also urging that Sliwa hold fast: “DO NOT let these billionaires and establishment ‘DEMOCRATS’ force you to drop out of this race. YOU still have a shot. NEVER BACK DOWN.” Have a shot at what? Losing badly in third place and throwing the race to Mamdani?
Mamdani and Ossé want Sliwa to stay in, but his pals Catsimatidis and Rosenberg want him to withdraw. So who does he listen to?
The bottom line is that after nearly a half century in the limelight with the Guardian Angels, everyone has always called him Curtis, but no one will ever call him mayor. Curtis, do what must be done and listen to what your friend John says: “I think Curtis would be a hero if we beat Zohran.”
