Taylor’s Takes: Curtis Sliwa can finally save New York City
Sliwa could single-handedly save Gotham from the socialist clutches of Zohran Mamdani, the favorite to win the election.
I first heard of Curtis Sliwa in 2009.
As an 18-year-old part-time radio news reporter in New Bedford, I was tasked with covering Sliwa’s visit to the city as local organizers attempted to start up their own chapter of Sliwa’s Guardian Angels.
Sliwa, to me, seemed like an odd character from the get-go. He was dressed in his traditional Angel garb, complete with the signature red beret. His eyes darted about as the interested locals relayed the city’s chronic crime problems to him. He seemed both concerned and distracted at the same time.
I don’t remember much from my brief interaction with him. I don’t remember if he was soft-spoken or brash. But still, he was a memorable sight.
More memorable was his cause.
As hokey as it seemed, the idea of the Guardian Angels was one rooted in pride for the surrounding community. Groups of able-bodied men, all in similar dress (again, complete with red berets), patrolling the streets of their neighborhoods on foot. These men sought to fill the gap that had been left after police department cutbacks forced the street-beat cops to cover wider areas with fewer resources.
The Guardian Angels felt they could make their communities safer simply by showing up and making their presence known, signaling to any would-be “bad guys” that there were people watching and ready to take action, if need be.
But by the time the notion of a local Guardian Angels chapter floated into New Bedford, it was too old-fashioned, I suppose. Urban gangs had already taken hold in the city, and that was a job best left to the police. Uniformed, unarmed men may have been able to scare off a lowly purse-snatcher, but reducing the amount of gang violence in New Bedford would have been astronomically above their volunteer-level pay grade.
But now in 2025, Curtis Sliwa finds himself in the most honorable position of his lifetime: a lynchpin candidate for mayor of New York City.
Sliwa could single-handedly save Gotham from the socialist clutches of Zohran Mamdani, the favorite to win the election.
The vision of a New York City led by Mamdani is a grim one. Municipal-run grocery stores would drive out most bodegas on competitive prices alone in the short-term, killing a cornerstone of the local business make-up in the city before dying their own inevitable death.
Subsidies would be maxed out under Mamdani. Free healthcare for transgenders, free bus fare, free childcare, all shelled out for by whomever stupidly decides to remain in New York.
So many other dangers lurk should Mamdani secure a victory in November.
But Curtis Sliwa is the man who can put a stop to all of that.
All he has to do is drop out.
Permitting that Andrew Cuomo keeps out of the race, honoring his defeat as a Democrat candidate and bowing out completely, polling shows Mamdani with a 33% command of the voting block with incumbent Eric Adams around 19%. A decisive margin, to be sure.
However, Sliwa is polling at a respectable 16%. I say respectable because he is running as a Republican in one of the most liberal cities in America. And he wears a red beret.
If Curtis Sliwa drops out and combines his votes with NYC Mayor Eric Adams, the math is there to defeat Zohran Mamdani in the November general election according to a poll released by The Manhattan Institute.
— VISH BURRA
The most patriotic thing Curtis could do to save the city is drop out. pic.twitter.com/L4U0EJ6xyr(@VishBurra) June 26, 2025
In reality, on his own, Sliwa doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting elected mayor of New York City. Should he drop out and throw his support behind Adams, most of his base would follow.
New Yorkers know Adams. Is he great? No. Is he scandal-free? No.
But is he a socialist?
No.
Better to stick with the evil you know than the evil you don’t. And I daresay New York would never come back from socialist ruin should it ever dip its toes into that water.
Even more frightening is the old, local adage: Where goes New York, so eventually goes Massachusetts.
Adams needs a galvanization campaign. Any and every fringe candidate that can pile on their support should.
Much like Trump’s crusade against Kamala Harris and the chaos her presidency would have brought, Adams needs the support of the New York versions of Joe Rogan, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and the like.
So, Mr. Sliwa, now’s the chance to do what you’ve always wanted to.
Save New York.
Drop out.
It could be the last time you’re able to really make a difference.
