October 28, 2021
The second, and final, debate between Mayoral candidates Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa probably didn’t change many minds. Next Tuesday will officially end the long, drawn out contest that was unofficially won by Adams last Summer in the Democratic Primary. With so many more registered Democrats than Republicans here, his eventual triumph is all but inevitable.
In this week’s debate, Sliwa once again tried to provoke Adams and knock him off his serenity game and once again failed to do so. But he was like a football team down 30 points with 2 minutes left in the game, i.e. no real chance of winning. The very best outcome Sliwa could have hoped for was either a surprise withdrawal from the mayoral race by Adams or him just not showing up to debate. Neither of these Hail Mary scenarios happened, but even if one or both somehow did, Adams would still probably win next week.
So this was largely just an obligation for Adams to get out of the way and a branding opportunity for Sliwa who’s far more media savvy than electable. He’ll probably carry Staten Island easily and lose the other four boroughs early by wide margins. That’s the Gazette‘s best guess, anyway.
Photo: TV screencap.