What’s the Deal With Curtis Sliwa, the Red Beret’d, Cat-Loving Vigilante Running for NYC Mayor?

The Slatest By Jeremy Stahl July 13, 202111:59 AM Last week, Eric Adams claimed victory in the Democratic primary for New York City’s November mayoral election. That win was seen widely as an almost de facto triumph for the mayoral contest itself, as Democrats have a 7-to-1 registration advantage in New York, and the Republican candidate is the charismatic—but fundamentally unserious—tabloid gadfly Curtis Sliwa. Sliwa’s main professional achievement up to this point is serving as the founder of the “Guardian Angels,” a volunteer security group with a storied history in New York City. Despite Adams being the heavy favorite, Sliwa likes to note that he has secured “Independent” ballot status on top of his Republican ballot placement, a tactic that was key to Michael Bloomberg’s victory as the last GOP candidate to win the mayorship in 2001. And he carries the endorsement of one of New York’s other recent Republican mayors, Rudy Giuliani, with whom he’s had a decadeslong personal relation...