New York City Mayoral Candidate Curtis Sliwa Upset After Issues At Upper West Side Polling Place
Editor's note: Sliwa conceded the race around 9:45 p.m. after Democrat Eric Adams was projected as the winner.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Curtis Sliwa walked into Frank McCourt High School to vote Tuesday on the Upper West Side, but the Republican candidate was not happy with the process.
"First, they kept Gizmo out," he told reporters. Gizmo is Sliwa's 4-week-old cat.
That was one of three problems the Guardian Angels founder faced. He was asked to remove his campaign jacket, as required by law, and his ballot got stuck in the scanner.
"They said we had to take the jackets off," he said. "Now, my ballot is somehow in a repository in the machine without being counted."
He was eventually allowed to wear the jacket while voting.
Outside those concerns, Sliwa is dealing with a bigger battle on Election Day. He has to overcome a 7-to-1 Democratic registration advantage in the city to win.
It's a huge undertaking for a man who has, to name a few, promised to tackle crime, homelessness, re-fund the police. He's also said he will lose his signature headgear.
"Becoming mayor and saving New York City is more important than wearing this red beret," he said.
He said if he wins, the Guardian Angels will be run by one of his lieutenants.
When asked how he was doing on election day, Sliwa replied, "I'm in a lot of pain." His discomfort likely stemmed from Friday, when he got hit by a cab running to a campaign appearance.
"The arm was very, very painful. And my head was doing cartwheels," he said.
But he kept campaigning over the weekend, and cast his ballot Tuesday -- something he said he would like to see more people do.
"People died for the privilege that we don't take advantage," he said.
CBS2 has reached out to the Board of Elections about some of the problems Sliwa said he experience at his polling center.
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