Who is Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa?
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — Curtis Sliwa ran unopposed and won the Republican primary for New York City mayor for the second consecutive election cycle.
Sliwa, a longtime New York City radio broadcaster, lost the 2021 election to current Mayor Eric Adams.
More Local News
The Brooklyn native began his career as an activist in 1977 when he started the 'Magnificent 13,' a small civilian group combatting violence and crime on the New York City subway system, according to Sliwa's campaign. In 1979, the group was renamed as the 'Guardian Angels,' known by their red berets, which Sliwa regularly sports.
As an unarmed group of community members, the Guardian Angels were required to take karate classes, learn life-saving techniques and know the legal requirements of a citizen's arrest before taking patrol.
In the 1990s, Sliwa shifted his career focus to the radio waves of New York, hosting drive-time and midday shows for WABC and WNYM over three decades. When he announced his mayoral campaign in 2020, Sliwa put his broadcasting career on hold.
Sliwa ran unopposed in the 2025 Republican primary for New York City mayor, clearing the way for a return to the ballot in November.
More News: NY Elections
Sliwa's campaign has focused on issues like public safety, reforming Rikers Island, housing, education and transit safety.
Notably, Sliwa has promised to hire 7,000 NYPD officers, enhance recruitment and pay and repeal cashless bail, among other things to prevent crime in the city if elected.
With the promise of supporting New York City correctional facilities and officers, Sliwa plans to keep Rikers Island open, bring back solitary confinement in jails, give corrections officers more control and make recruitment a priority.
To make the city more affordable, Sliwa wants to audit city spending, incentivize local landlords to create more housing instead of high-rise developers and give communities more power in zoning decisions.
To combat homelessness and transit violence, Sliwa plans to reinstate the NYPD's Homeless Outreach Unit, expand mental health response teams, enforce public transit rules against harassment, loitering, and unsafe behavior, as well as increase patrols in and around subway stations.
Members of the Guardian Angels misidentified and detained a Bronx man they believed to be a migrant while Sliwa was being interviewed live on television in 2024, which prompted backlash from Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Associated Press reported.
In 2023, Sliwa was arrested during a migrant-related protest outside of Gracie Mansion, which turned violent between those for and against asylum-seekers.
Spencer Gustafson is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered New York state and city news since 2023. See more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
Minnesota Lawmaker and Her Husband Remembered for Their Shared Legacy
Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were remembered at their funeral on Saturday as 'extraordinary public servants' who were killed in an inexplicable act of political violence. Their wooden caskets rested side by side inside the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis as hundreds of political colleagues, friends and relatives sat shoulder to shoulder in the pews to say goodbye to the couple, who were assassinated at their suburban Minneapolis home earlier in June. Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris joined the mourners for the somber Catholic funeral Mass, though neither spoke during the service. Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, his eyes red from crying, delivered the eulogy. He praised Ms. Hortman as a consequential and compassionate political leader and Mr. Hortman as her proudest supporter. He said their shared legacy included improving roads and bridges, and free school lunches and expanded preschool for children. 'Millions of Minnesotans will get to live their lives better because she and Mark chose public service,' Mr. Walz said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jesse Watters' New Nickname For Zohran Mamdani Makes Him Sound Ridiculously Cool
Fox News host Jesse Watters has unveiled a new nickname for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — and people can't help but notice it makes him sound really, really cool. Over the past few days, the commentator has referred to the progressive rising star as 'Zohran the Destroyer,' or simply 'the destroyer,' multiple times. In a viral screenshot from Thursday's episode of 'Jesse Watters Primetime,' a chyron reads, 'ZOHRAN THE DESTROYER WRECKS DEM PARTY.' The segment touched on angst from some Democrats over Mamdani threatening the status quo. The democratic socialist beat former New York Gov. and accused sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday in a stunning upset. 'What's Zohran the Destroyer got going for him?' Watters asked in a monologue that trashed Mamdani's policy proposals and mocked his supporters. He also called him a 'smooth-talking assassin.' On 'The Five' on Friday, Watters mused, 'Zohran the Destroyer is about to give Karl Marx a woke makeover, if Democrats can't stop him from becoming the next mayor of New York City.' On social media, people joked about how awesome the moniker made Mamdani sound. They're giving him cool nicknames now — pokey pup (@Whatapityonyou) June 27, 2025 Problem? — Austin MacNamara - Gremloe (@gremloe) June 28, 2025 omw to Join the Praetorian Guard of Zohran the Destroyer — Estrie⚢🔆 (@AdorableEstrie) June 28, 2025 I'm sorry @ZohranKMamdani, but I will only be referring to you by your full name from now on: Zohran The Destroyer. — Deliver The Food (@deliverthefred) June 27, 2025 They try to make him sound scary and just make him sound like a hero."Hither came Zohran, black-haired, bright-eyed, sword in hand, a reaver, a billionaire-slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet." — Josiah Hawthorne (@JosiahHawthorne) June 27, 2025 Zohran Mamdani Stuns Andrew Cuomo In NYC Mayoral Primary Marjorie Taylor Greene And Tucker Carlson Offer Surprising Praise For Rising Dem Star Democrats Hope They Can Replicate Zohran Mamdani, Just Without The Socialism
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This overlooked risk to financial markets usually lurks quietly under the surface. But now it's ‘shouting, not whispering'
Much attention has been focused on the U.S. current account deficit, or the imbalance between imports and export, but there's another metric that's poised to amplify market shocks. That's the net international investment position, according to Kevin Ford, FX and macro strategist at Convera, who likens it to America's financial scorecard with the rest of the world. President Donald Trump's trade war has focused much of Wall Street's attention on the U.S. current account deficit, or the imbalance between imports and exports. But there's another metric worth following that could worsen financial risks. According to Kevin Ford, FX and macro strategist at Convera, the country's net international investment position (NIIP) often gets overlooked. It measures how much the U.S. owns abroad versus how much the world owns in the U.S., he said in a note last week, describing it as America's financial scorecard with the rest of the world. And by that score, the U.S. is in the red by about $26 trillion, or nearly 80% of GDP. 'That means foreign investors hold way more American assets than Americans hold abroad,' Ford added. 'It's a setup that works fine when confidence is high, but in shaky times like 2025, it can become a pressure cooker.' Indeed, times have been shaky. The U.S. Dollar Index is down 10% so far this year as the shock of Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs continues to reverberate, creating doubts about U.S. assets once deemed reliable safe havens. In fact, the dollar's year-to-date plunge is the worst since the U.S. transitioned to a free-floating exchange rate in 1973, effectively ending the post-World War II system of fixed rates under the Bretton Woods agreement. Meanwhile, legislation that would add trillions of dollars to fiscal deficits is advancing in Congress, stirring more anxiety among foreign investors, especially those who hold U.S. debt. Put it all together, and this year has been a textbook example of how a negative NIIP profile can magnify currency turmoil, Ford warned. 'And because so much of the capital propping up the U.S. financial system comes from abroad, even small shifts in sentiment can lead to big outflows,' he added. 'That's a lot of dollars being sold, and fewer being bought, and voilà, the greenback stumbles.' Circling back to the financial scorecard analogy, Ford explained that the problem with focusing on the current account deficit is that it only shows the flow of transactions, i.e. imports versus exports. By contrast, the NIIP shows the overall pile of debts—and ignoring that would be like judging a person's spending habits without checking their credit card balance, he said, making trust 'your most important asset.' 'Yes, trade deficits, interest rates, and Fed signals all play a role, but the NIIP tells you just how exposed the U.S. is when things go sideways,' Ford concluded. 'It's the quiet structural risk lurking under the surface, ready to amplify shocks. And in a year like this, it's been shouting, not whispering.' Waning confidence in the dollar has spurred investors and central banks around the world to load up on gold, which has soared in price in recent years and particularly this year, surging 21% in 2025. Trump's unrelenting pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates has also weakened the dollar lately. While many on Wall Street see even more downside potential ahead for the dollar, the AI boom that's still drawing billions in global investment flows to the U.S. offers some hope for relief. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
