Four journalists from NBC 4 New York, Telemundo and Politico will moderate the first general election debate involving Zohran Mamdani, Andrew M. Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa on Thursday, ahead of the New York City mayoral election on Nov. 4.
The moderators are David Ushery and Melissa Russo of WNBC-TV, Rosarina Bretón of Telemundo and Sally Goldenberg of Politico New York. There will be a second mayoral debate with different moderators on Oct. 22.
Here’s what to know about Thursday’s moderators, who also oversaw a Democratic primary debate in June:
David Ushery
Mr. Ushery, 58, is an anchor for NBC 4 New York, where he has covered breaking news for more than 20 years. He has followed some of the biggest local and national stories, including the city’s response to the Covid pandemic, for which he received the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 2021, and the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
A Connecticut native, Mr. Ushery has moderated debates for New York governor, New York City comptroller and New York City mayor, dating back to a 1997 mayoral debate between Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and the Democratic nominee, Ruth Messinger.
Melissa Russo
Ms. Russo, 56, is a political and government affairs reporter for NBC 4 New York. She has covered five New York City mayors and dozens of local and national elections. The political candidates she has interviewed include Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Mr. Giuliani.
Ms. Russo has also covered New York’s homeless shelter system, the migrant crisis and the state’s family court system.
Rosarina Bretón
Ms. Bretón is an anchor for WNJU, also known as Telemundo 47, where she has reported on breaking news since 2018. She interviewed Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York in March about immigration enforcement, congestion pricing and the state budget, among other topics.
Ms. Bretón also worked as a reporter and anchor at the Spanish-language news channel NY1 Noticias for nearly a decade.
Sally Goldenberg
Ms. Goldenberg, 44, is a senior politics editor at Politico. She joined the site in 2013 as a reporter on the New York team and covered the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, as well as labor contracts and the city’s housing and economic development agenda.
Before joining Politico, Ms. Goldenberg was a reporter at The New York Post, where she covered the City Council and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration. A New Jersey native, Ms. Goldenberg has also worked at The Staten Island Advance, as well as The Star-Ledger and The Hillsborough Beacon in New Jersey.
Ashley Ahn covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
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