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Agence France-Presse

A socialist, an accused molester and a vigilante all hoping to be New York’s next mayor clashed in a debate with “high levels of testosterone” Thursday as the unpredictable campaign entered the homestretch.
Democratic candidate and front runner Zohran Mamdani, independent former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa pitched to voters in the first of two televised debates ahead of the November 4 election.
Early voting begins on October 25.
Mamdani attacked Cuomo for his alleged sexual misconduct and controversial governing record “sending seniors to their death in nursing homes” during the Covid pandemic.

“Thank God I’m not a professional politician because they have created the crime crisis in this city,” Sliwa said, gesturing at his two rivals.
“There’s high levels of testosterone in this room,” he said later.
Mamdani pulled off a stunning upset in the Democratic Party primary, defeating political scion Cuomo who had been the favourite 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 state governor from 2011 until 2021, when he resigned over sexual assault allegations.

Mamdani, 33, is a state lawmaker for the city borough of Queens and has run an insurgent grass-roots campaign that has motivated young New Yorkers at a high rate.
Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from Mamdani’s administration if he is elected, calling him a “communist”.
But Mamdani said “I would make it clear to the president that I am willing to not only speak to him, but to work with him, if it means delivering on lowering the cost of living for New York”.
Cuomo warned “Trump will take over New York City, and it will be Mayor Trump” if Mamdani won - mirroring the takeover of much of the administration of the capital Washington.
Trump said Wednesday he had “terminated” the US$16 billion Hudson Gateway tunnel linking New York to New Jersey, a years-long megaproject.
Asked in the debate for his dream news headline, Mamdani said it would be “Mamdani continues to take on Trump”.
Quinnipiac University polling suggests most voters will not have their minds changed by the TV debate with just 18 per cent of Mamdani and Cuomo’s supporters “not likely” to alter their pick, compared to 24 per cent of Sliwa’s backers.
In the latest polling Sliwa, a 71-year-old who founded the Guardian Angels vigilante group in 1979, was trailing a distant third with 15 per cent in the most recent poll, behind Cuomo’s 33 per cent and Mamdani’s 46 per cent.
Sliwa 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 said ahead of the showdown.
One of the most acrimonious exchanges in the debate, held without an audience, centred on the safety of New York’s significant Jewish community.
Cuomo accused Mamdani of not condemning Hamas and endorsing an epithet he claimed meant death to all Jews globally, while Sliwa accused both of being soft on hate crimes because of their endorsement of cash bail.
“Why would (Mamdani) not condemn Hamas? He still won’t denounce ‘globalise the intifada,’ which means kill all Jews,” Cuomo said, drawing an instant rejection from Mamdani.
Sliwa pointed to his leadership of a vigilante group saying he had “been there for all people at all times for 46 years as leader of the Guardian Angels here and around the world”.
A second debate will be held on October 22.


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United States

Trump looms large as New York mayor hopefuls clash in testy debate

People watch Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani speak on a screen at a local bar in New York. Photo: EPA

Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a mayoral debate with Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Photo: Reuters

New York City. File photo: Shutterstock

Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani greets supporters. Photo: AP

Trump threatens New York City funding if Mamdani wins mayor’s race after Adams bows out

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani at a press conference in New York on Monday. Photo: Reuters

New York City mayoral candidate and former governor Andrew Cuomo. Photo: New York Daily News / TNS

New York Mayor Eric Adams, right, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Photo: New York Daily News / TNS

New York City Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa in Madison Square Park, New York on September 12,. Photo: AP

Ex-Trump aide John Bolton charged amid crackdown on US president’s critics

Then US National Security Adviser John Bolton in 2019. File photo: AFP

US Attorney General Pam Bondi listens while US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

FBI agents carry boxes from the building that houses the Washington office of John Bolton in August. Photo: Reuters

Former FBI director James Comey has pleaded not guilty to his charges. Image: Dana Verkouteren via AP

New York City Mayor Eric Adams ends his re-election campaign

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks about dropping his re-election bid, in New York on Sunday. Photo: Eric Adams via X / Handout via Reuters

Zohran Mamdani, left, and Andrew Cuomo, both candidates for the New York City mayoral post. Photo: New York Daily News / TNS

US Chamber of Commerce sues Trump administration over US$100,000 H-1B visa fee

The H-1B programme allows US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty fields, and technology companies in particular rely heavily on workers who receive H-1B visas. Photo illustration: Reuters

US President Donald Trump signs a series of executive orders establishing the “Trump Gold Card” and introducing a US$100,000 fee for H-1B visas at the White House in September. Photo: TNS

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World

United States & Canada

Socialist Zohran Mamdani, ex-governor Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa trade barbs ahead of the November 4 election


Socialist Zohran Mamdani, ex-governor Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa trade barbs ahead of the November 4 election.


Trump looms large as New York mayor hopefuls clash in testy debate

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Socialist Zohran Mamdani, ex-governor Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa trade barbs ahead of the November 4 election

Socialist Zohran Mamdani, ex-governor Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa trade barbs ahead of the November 4 election