Who Is Curtis Sliwa? A Look at the GOP Mayoral Candidate’s Wild Ride in New York

In 2021, with cursory understanding of the name Curtis Sliwa, you’d be forgiven if you thought of the Republican nominee for mayor of New York City as just that wacky red-beret-wearing, cat-loving Guardian Angels leader with hardly a prayer of winning.Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 7-to-1 in the city, and Sliwa is up against Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams who has practically been anointed to the gig by party leaders across the spectrum.But those who know Sliwa well say it would be folly to count him out completely. And his decades-long career — or “series of escapades,” as Sliwa’s longtime radio co-host Ron Kuby put it — belies a deep understanding of the city (and its id) and an exceptional talent for garnering attention.“Curtis is primarily motivated by the number of ears listening to him and the number of eyeballs watching him,” said Kuby, a decidedly liberal lawyer. “If you think of his mayoral run as a talk show, you’re a lot better off.”Since winning the Republican...