Curtis Sliwa (/ˈsliːwə/; born March 26, 1954) is an American activist, radio talk show host, and founder and chief executive officer of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit crime prevention organization.

Sliwa was the Republican nominee for the 2021 New York City mayoral election, which he lost to Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams.

Curtis Sliwa was born on March 26, 1954,[1] into a Catholic family of Polish and Italian descent, in Canarsie, Brooklyn.

In his youth, he worked as a delivery boy for the Daily News, where he was awarded the title of "Newsboy of the Year" and a trip to the White House after he saved several people from a burning building while on a paper route.

[8] In May 1977, Sliwa created the "Magnificent 13", a civilian group dedicated to combating violence and crime on the New York City Subway.

"[15] Then-Lieutenant Governor Mario Cuomo was a rare early advocate of the organization, being quoted saying "[t]hey are a better expression of morality than our city deserves".

The taxi picked up Sliwa near his home in the East Village, and a gunman hiding in the front passenger seat jumped up and fired several shots, hitting him in the groin and legs.

[33] He hosted both the morning and evening "drive time" shows on WNYM-AM 970,[34] but as of January 2, 2014, Sliwa returned to WABC, replacing Rush Limbaugh who moved to WOR-AM.

[36][37] In September 2016, Sliwa and Frank Morano launched a successful hostile takeover of the Reform Party of New York State.

[39] In December 2019, Sliwa declared in an interview that he hated then-President of the United States Donald Trump, calling him a "screwball and a crackpot".

[48] Sliwa ran on a platform opposing the defund the police movement, supporting a property tax overhaul so that working-class residents would not pay higher property taxes than wealthy citizens, keeping in place the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test while increasing opportunities for vocational training in charter schools, and focusing on fiscal restraint.

[52][53] Sliwa campaigned on beginning a trial program, if elected, to test out the feasibility of universal basic income in New York City.

Police issued a desk appearance ticket on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and obstruction, but the Manhattan district attorney's office declined to prosecute.

[61] In 2000, Sliwa married his third wife, Mary (nee Galda), a former WABC employee who also served as the Guardian Angels' national director.

[66] Sliwa was in a relationship with Melinda Katz, the Queens County District Attorney, and separated from her in 2014; they have two children together, conceived in vitro over the previous five years.

[68][69] On July 5, 2018, Sliwa wed his longtime girlfriend, animal activist and attorney Nancy Regula, at the Howe Caverns.