‘The Trump candidate is Eric Adams’: Curtis Sliwa sizes up the mayoral race

New York City is less than two months out from a crowded Democratic mayoral primary contest headlined by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani. Across the aisle, Republican Curtis Sliwa is in the middle of his second straight run for mayor, after losing to Mayor Eric Adams in 2021. 

In November, Sliwa will once face Adams, who is running as an independent this time, along with whomever wins the Democratic primary, plus independent candidate Jim Walden and potentially a Working Families Party candidate as well. Sliwa likes his chances in the potential five-way race, especially after former Rep. Lee Zeldin’s promising New York City returns in the 2022 governor’s race. He thinks that if he can take a third of the city’s voters in November – while the rest of the electorate is split between Democratic and independent candidates – he’ll be living in Gracie Mansion next year. The grand plan, according to Sliwa, is to pay that forward by providing a solid base of support in the five boroughs to whomever Republicans decide will challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2026. 

City & State caught up with Sliwa in the state Capitol last week for a quick chat about his campaign, party politics and how Trump is affecting GOP prospects in New York.  This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

So what's your view of this mayoral race so far?

Well, the last time I ran, it was just me and Eric Adams. Eric Adams, Democrat. I was a Republican, so that's a tough race, but now there's going to be five, maybe more, in the general, and they're all Democrats. I'm the only Republican. So now let's look at everyone hypothetically. It's going to be a blood bath in the Democratic primary. They all have millions, and they're ready to drop bombs. So let's say Cuomo survives the ranked choice voting – but I still insist they've done it properly, and they’ve prepared this time. They could knock him off, because who's going to put his name second, third, fourth or fifth? Last time around, ranked choice voting, Kathryn Garcia and Andrew Yang got together June 19, a week before the primary, and Adams almost lost. So if you're highly organized and you use ranked choice, as they appear they are very disciplined to do, they could knock off the front runner. 

But let's assume he wins the Democratic primary, but he's bruised. Now you have Zohran Mamdani. He has everybody under 30. He'll run Working Families Party because they have a blood feud and a vendetta, and rightfully so, against Cuomo, who tried to destroy their party, because “how dare Cynthia Nixon run against me?” Then you have Eric Adams. Every other day, he's creating a new independent line: “Safe Streets, Affordable Housing,” of which we have neither, and now “Fight Antisemitism.” Well, you've been the mayor, haven't done a very good job of doing that, but you'll get enough signatures to run. Then you have a guy named Jim Walden. He's going to run as an independent. You have me. That's five, maybe six. 

So I start out with close to 30% from the last election – assuming some have died, some have moved to Florida – okay, 25%. Do the math. I don't think my people vacate me. I think all of (the other candidates) are Democrats. Even if they have independent lines, they're going to have a knife fight. You do the math. If I get up, pump it up to 35%, you're talking to the next mayor of the city of New York. That's my pathway to victory. 

Reps. Elise Stefanik and Mike Lawler and Nassau County Bruce Blakeman have all been discussed as possible gubernatorial candidates next year. Who do you prefer?

Well, I've been in the company of all three. I was with Stefanik when she gave that “don't fire it till you see the whites of Kathy Hochul’s eyes” speech at the Plaza Hotel, and I was very impressed. Lawler, super impressive, because he's been able to be acceptable to moderates and even Democrats and independents. And how do you argue against Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman? I mean, he's led on so many issues. So if all three end up in a Republican primary, boy, the voters are going to have a lot of choices. But again, I can make their job a lot easier. If I get 35% of the vote in New York City, which is what I need to win, then you're going to have a Republican governor, no matter who it is. 

Do you worry that Trump's going to make it difficult for Republicans to do well in New York, given some of the federal policies coming out of the White House?  

I'm not the Trump candidate. He hasn't endorsed me. I haven't reached out to the White House. But I respect the president. You have to have a working relationship. But everybody knows the Trump candidate is Eric Adams. So if the President says, “Eric jump,” Eric Adams says, “how high, Mr. President?” He will do whatever the president tells him, even if it's not in the best interest of the city. 

I, as mayor, represent all the people. If it's good for the city, you gotta work with the president. He controls all the money. If it's bad for the city, you have to say, “respectfully, I disagree with you.” But you can't be like Andrew Cuomo declaring war on the president. Hey, guy, you were the chairman of HUD; 95% of all the money for all public housing projects come from the federal government. Do you want to declare war on the man who controls the money for public housing – that you're well aware of when you were the chairman of HUD – simply because (you’re) going to get more Democratic votes against the liberals, progressives and DSA? That is a recipe for disaster for New York state. 

Tough guy, right? This tough guy fled impeachment. He ran to the Hamptons so fast. I was here with Rob Cole and my wife when he fled, and we came to retrieve his husky (who) was called El Capitan. He was ready to leave man's best friend, his husky, like he abandoned New York State, and now he thinks all is forgiven, all is forgotten. He's a coward, and I can't wait to be on the debate stage and look him in the eyes and say: “Andrew, I knew your father, Mario. You're no Mario Cuomo. You're a coward. You fled because you feared impeachment, which would have meant you would never be able to run for office again.” Everything was calculated like Napoleon escaping to the island of Elba to come back another day and wreak havoc on New York City like he did on New York state. 

What are your thoughts on the late state budget? 

First of all, (Hochul) wants a payroll tax to subsidize the MTA. It's hard enough to do business. It's going to drive more business out. The MTA is a boondoggle. Inefficient. The MTA board needs to be replaced, and she doesn't want to make the tough decisions about an agency that just sucks up all the money, and now she just wants to subsidize it more. She doesn't have the money. The tax base has fled down south of the Mason-Dixon Line. It makes no sense. You have to have a balanced budget. How are you going to have a balanced budget if you're going to float $36 billion to the MTA by raising payroll taxes on corporations that may already have one foot out the door? Because they'll say, “No, we can't deal with this anymore.”