Curtis Sliwa
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Curtis Anthony Sliwa (born March 26, 1954) is an American politician, activist and radio talk show host at 710 WOR Radio in NYC (an iHeart station). He is the founder and chief executive officer of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit crime-prevention organization headquartered in New York City. Sliwa was twice the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Mayor of New York, being defeated in 2021 by Democratic nominee Eric Adams and in 2025 by Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. In 1977, Sliwa founded the safety group "The Magnificent 13" to patrol the Bronx and the New York City Subway overnight. As crime rates spiked across the five boroughs, the group enrolled hundreds of recruits and gained prominence throughout the city. In 1979, it was re-established as the Guardian Angels. Since then, his leadership has expanded domestically and internationally, covering fourteen countries and over 130 cities. The Angels specialize in crime prevention, self-defense training, youth mentoring, and homeless outreach. Sliwa has hosted talk shows on local New York radio for over thirty years, on WABC, WNYC, WNYM, and others. He began his radio career in 1990 on WABC-AM and stayed with the station until the 2025 mayoral election, when he quit during a heated live interview. Shows like Curtis Sliwa Live and Curtis & Kuby in the Morning (with Ron Kuby) have centered predominantly around current affairs from a conservative perspective, often with shock jock humor. In addition to his history with the Guardian Angels, Sliwa has engaged in protests and civil disobedience on issues regarding crime and immigration. He has been arrested at least 75 times. Sliwa refers to himself as a populist and an outsider, focusing solely on right-wing New York politics. As an influential activist in the city for decades, he has been supported and endorsed by many prominent New York politicians, including Republicans George Pataki, Nicole Malliotakis, and Elise Stefanik, among others. As a candidate, Sliwa likens himself to former mayor Rudy Giuliani, and cites former state governor Pataki as his mentor. His campaigns have highlighted law and order, public safety and policing, poverty and homelessness, and widespread tax cuts on income and property. He is also an ardent animal welfare supporter.