Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa throw punches ahead of final NYC mayoral debate
Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa bombarded each other with caustic criticism on Monday, three days into early voting in the city’s mayoral election and one day before the final TV debate ahead of Election Day on Nov. 2.
Adams, the Democratic nominee and heavy favorite, grumbled that Sliwa flouted rules during the first debate, held last Wednesday, and suggested that his Republican rival falls short of the Democratic opponents he slayed in the primary.
“Shaun Donovan, Ray McGuire, Dianne Morales — these were just smart people,” Adams said with a laugh, referencing three hopefuls in the June primary, as he spoke with reporters in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. “You had to be ready to answer very tough questions and roll out a policy and plan. There were no antics. We didn’t see any showmanship.”
The Brooklyn borough president added that the stunt-prone Sliwa will “make up anything just to get his name in the paper,” pointing to the Republican’s admission decades ago that he staged crimes to drum up positive press for his Guardian Angels patrol group.
Sliwa in turn charged that Adams didn’t show a “modicum” of civility on the debate stage and spurned an offer of a handshake. After the debate, Adams suggested he wasn’t sure if Sliwa was vaccinated and that he would prefer an elbow bump; Sliwa has said he is immunized.
The candidates — two colorful New York City characters — have long enjoyed a friendly relationship. But it could be fraying slightly as personal attacks fly in the general election.
Sliwa said he intends to confront Adams to try to shake his hand in Tuesday’s debate, adding that he will promise his support if Adams wins, and ask for the same from the Democrat.
“He’s not going to be able to wiggle out of this: I will walk over to him, and I will force the issue,” Sliwa told the Daily News by phone on Monday after participating in an anti-coronavirus vaccination mandate march on the Brooklyn Bridge.
“We’ll see what he does,” Sliwa added of Adams. “Will he shake my hand? Will he actually agree to support me if the vote suggests that I become the mayor? Or is he going to continue to be pompous, arrogant, erudite and just pretentious?”
Eric Adams, Curtis Sliwa trade personal and policy barbs in fiery first NYC mayoral debate
The vote is not expected to indicate a victory for Sliwa. Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly seven to one in the city, and Sliwa has struggled to corral support from local heavy hitters in his own party.
A PIX11 opinion poll released on Monday showed Adams carrying support from 61% of likely voters and Sliwa picking up support from 25% of likely voters.
Sliwa is campaigning on a relatively policy-light platform that includes promises to pour money into the Police Department, to halt the killing of animals at shelters and to reduce homelessness. He has mixed his populist pitch with traditionally conservative positions — like his opposition to the vaccine mandate for municipal workers.
Adams, a former police captain who employed a powerful public-safety pitch in the Democratic primary, ignored Sliwa for much of the general election campaign. But with Election Day looming, he has begun to parry the Republican’s attacks more forcefully, likening his rival’s campaign to a “circus.”
In the debate last week, Adams strained to keep a serene smile on his face as Sliwa launched broadsides and painted the favorite as out of touch with ordinary people.
“I’m speaking to New Yorkers,” Adams said at one point. “Not speaking to buffoonery.”
Touring businesses on Fifth Ave. in Sunset Park on Monday, Adams said he had come into the debate with a “plan — of rolling out a plan,” and that Sliwa “came in with his plan — of sidetracking that he does not have a plan.”
Adams has sometimes avoided making policy commitments during the general election campaign. But he has pledged a reset with the city’s business community, issued a blueprint to increase supportive housing and released a plan to improve the city’s flood resiliency, among other promises.
The second debate is scheduled to air on WABC-TV from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Sliwa offered a pointed plea to his competitor ahead of the showdown.
“Act human,” Sliwa said of Adams. “Just act human. He’s acting like a robot.”
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