Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa traded in his patented red beret for a traditional jacket and striped tie in a new 30-second TV ad blasting his election rivals.
The cleaned-up Sliwa looks seriously into the camera and rips Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and independent candidates Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“Think about what we went through in New York,” Sliwa says in the clip as an image of Adams appears.
“Our schools are failing. Defund the police, crime and corruption. We shouldn’t have to live like this.”
Then he sets his sights on Cuomo, who appears on screen.
“Career politicians — they sold us out!” Sliwa rails.
Next up is Mamdani, the socialist candidate and frontrunner.
“And now, a socialist says he has the answers,” Sliwa says in the ad.
“We deserve better …Together we’ll build a safer, more affordable New York.”
But the Guardian Angels founder and radio show host couldn’t completely give up his beloved red beret, which he still wears while walking the streets on the campaign trail.
The ad shows a picture of a young Sliwa wearing the beret and in the final frame, the suit-clad Sliwa dons his red cap as he appears with his wife, Nancy.
The Sliwa campaign said it’s putting $500,000 behind the ad.
Sliwa qualified for public matching funds and has about $3 million in his campaign coffers, according to the city Campaign Finance Board.
It’s his second ad of the campaign.
His wife, Nancy, was featured in the first ad earlier this month, with her suit-clad husband.
The election is Nov. 4, preceded by an early voting period that begins Oct. 25.
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