For this New York City mayoral election, Bill Schacht thinks it’s bigger than party lines.
“I was a (Andrew) Cuomo guy at the beginning for sure, he’s the guy that did it before, can do it again, but he just didn’t have it anymore. The spark went out,” Schacht told CNN.
Even still, “Until today, I didn’t know which way I was going to vote,” the longtime Queens resident and self-described liberal Democrat said.
He considered Zohran Mamdani, but worried his public persona didn’t reflect his actual self, pointing to Mamdani choosing not to reveal his choices for a number of ballot proposals tied to housing in the city until Election Day.
“He’s clearly a magician in terms of public relations and having it together,” Schacht said, which is why he questioned why there wasn’t a ready answer on those issues.
So, he settled on Curtis Sliwa, the enigmatic Republican nominee.
“He’s the real deal, and I am so far from a Republican, but I voted Republican because it’s above the party. It’s about this whole system and where it wants to go, and he’s the guy that can represent me,” Schacht said.
With polls leading into Election Day showing Sliwa a distant third to Cuomo and Mamdani, some Republicans have said a vote for Sliwa is a wasted one — effectively a vote for Mamdani.
“It’s never wasted, who the hell knows?” Schacht said. “It’s not about the polls, it’s not about anything. It’s about the same old-fashioned way. One man, one vote,” he added.
