A socialist, an accused molester and a vigilante all hoping to be New York’s next mayor go head-to-head for a TV debate Thursday as the unpredictable campaign enters the homestretch.Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, independent former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa will make their pitch to voters in the first of two televised debates from 7 pm local time (2300 GMT) ahead of the November 4 vote. Early voting begins on October 25.New York’s astronomical cost of living, public safety and policing, and the candidates’ different approaches to relations with President Donald Trump if elected will be front and center.Mamdani pulled off a stunning upset in the Democratic party primary, defeating political scion Cuomo who had been the favorite for weeks, becoming the party’s official nominee.Mamdani has promised free bus services, rent freezes and city-run supermarkets, which Cuomo has panned as fanciful and unaffordable government overreach.The race to govern the city’s 8.5 million people was again upended when sitting mayor Eric Adams, who has been engulfed in corruption allegations, quit the race without endorsing another candidate.Cuomo, 67, was the governor of New York state from 2011 until 2021 when he resigned over sexual assault allegations, previously serving as a cabinet secretary under former president Bill Clinton.Mamdani, 33, is a state lawmaker for the Queens borough of New York and has faced criticism for his relative youth in the face of a typically older political establishment.- ‘Making a change’ -“I know some of you have expressed concerns about my age…That’s why this weekend I’ll be making a change. I’m turning 34,” he said in an Instagram video that was liked 134,000 in the first six hours.”The best gift is to beat Andrew Cuomo a second time.”Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from Mamdani’s administration if he’s elected, calling him a “communist.”But in an interview on Fox News, Mamdani addressed Trump directly and after criticizing his rivals said “I will, however, be a mayor who is ready to speak at any time to lower the cost of living.”Quinnipiac University polling suggests most voters will not have their minds changed by the TV debate with just 18 percent of Mamdani and Cuomo’s voters “not likely” to change their minds, compared to 24 percent of Sliwa’s backers.In the latest polling Sliwa, a 71-year-old who founded the Guardian Angels vigilante group in 1979, is trailing a distant third with 15 percent in the most recent poll, behind Cuomo’s 33 percent and Mamdani’s 46 percent.Sliwa, 71, insisted he would not bow to inducements he alleged were arranged by Cuomo — who denies the claim — to quit the race, like lucrative jobs with fat salaries and a driver.”I said, ‘Hey, this is not only unethical, it’s bribery, and it could be criminal,” Sliwa told AFP.Viewing parties were planned in bars across the city with several offering debate bingo drinking games.”I have very little optimism that they’re going to do anything with the cost of living to match what we have to pay,” said voter Steven Looez, a 41-year-old bartender, ahead of the debate.”Besides, it feels like they’re all bought anyway.”The second televised debate will be held on October 22.
A socialist, an accused molester and a vigilante all hoping to be New York’s next mayor go head-to-head for a TV debate Thursday as the unpredictable campaign enters the homestretch.Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, independent former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa will make their pitch to voters in the first of two televised debates from 7 pm local time (2300 GMT) ahead of the November 4 vote. Early voting begins on October 25.New York’s astronomical cost of living, public safety and policing, and the candidates’ different approaches to relations with President Donald Trump if elected will be front and center.Mamdani pulled off a stunning upset in the Democratic party primary, defeating political scion Cuomo who had been the favorite for weeks, becoming the party’s official nominee.Mamdani has promised free bus services, rent freezes and city-run supermarkets, which Cuomo has panned as fanciful and unaffordable government overreach.The race to govern the city’s 8.5 million people was again upended when sitting mayor Eric Adams, who has been engulfed in corruption allegations, quit the race without endorsing another candidate.Cuomo, 67, was the governor of New York state from 2011 until 2021 when he resigned over sexual assault allegations, previously serving as a cabinet secretary under former president Bill Clinton.Mamdani, 33, is a state lawmaker for the Queens borough of New York and has faced criticism for his relative youth in the face of a typically older political establishment.- ‘Making a change’ -“I know some of you have expressed concerns about my age…That’s why this weekend I’ll be making a change. I’m turning 34,” he said in an Instagram video that was liked 134,000 in the first six hours.”The best gift is to beat Andrew Cuomo a second time.”Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from Mamdani’s administration if he’s elected, calling him a “communist.”But in an interview on Fox News, Mamdani addressed Trump directly and after criticizing his rivals said “I will, however, be a mayor who is ready to speak at any time to lower the cost of living.”Quinnipiac University polling suggests most voters will not have their minds changed by the TV debate with just 18 percent of Mamdani and Cuomo’s voters “not likely” to change their minds, compared to 24 percent of Sliwa’s backers.In the latest polling Sliwa, a 71-year-old who founded the Guardian Angels vigilante group in 1979, is trailing a distant third with 15 percent in the most recent poll, behind Cuomo’s 33 percent and Mamdani’s 46 percent.Sliwa, 71, insisted he would not bow to inducements he alleged were arranged by Cuomo — who denies the claim — to quit the race, like lucrative jobs with fat salaries and a driver.”I said, ‘Hey, this is not only unethical, it’s bribery, and it could be criminal,” Sliwa told AFP.Viewing parties were planned in bars across the city with several offering debate bingo drinking games.”I have very little optimism that they’re going to do anything with the cost of living to match what we have to pay,” said voter Steven Looez, a 41-year-old bartender, ahead of the debate.”Besides, it feels like they’re all bought anyway.”The second televised debate will be held on October 22.
