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Award winning journalist Gary Baumgarten hosts the Newstalk show on Paltalk.com. He asks critical questions, and invites people from all around the world to talk directly to his newsmaker guests using Paltalk's voice over IP technology.

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Ed Koch, who was elected the mayor of New York City in 1977, will be my guest on News Talk Online on Paltalk Wednesday April 9. Born in the Bronx of Polish Jewish ancestry, Koch's family moved to Newark, New Jersey during the Depression and later moved to Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn when he was a teenager. He left City College when he was drafted into the Army where he became a decorated combat infantryman, achieving the rank of sergeant. He received his law degree from New York University Law School in 1948. As an active member of a Manhattan reform club, the Greenwich Village Independent Democrats, Koch was elected to the City Council in 1966. In 1968, he was elected to the House of Representatives in a district that hadn't sent a Democrat to Congress since 1934. He was reelected four times, earning a reputation as a competent legislator and a champion of many social causes. In 1977, he sought the Democratic nomination for mayor among a crowded field of candidates. Koch won the primary and went on to defeat Liberal Party candidate Mario Cuomo in the general election. With New York City's treasury near empty, Koch restored the city's credit in his first term through a series of budget cutting measures, enabling the city to enter the bond market within a few years and raise capital funds. As the city's fiscal prognosis began to brighten, so too did the mood of New Yorkers. Koch was often found walking the streets of New York, going up to strangers to ask them, "How 'm I Doin'?" Under Koch, the city's annual budget doubled to $26 billion and approximately $19 billion was spent on capital projects in the 1980's. Koch, who vowed to be the first four term mayor, sought reelection in 1989. However, he was confronted with a series of government corruption scandals. He also faced heated criticism for his combative dealings with other public officials and the press. He lost the Democratic primary to then Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins. He has remained extremely active and popular since leaving office, practicing law in New York City, lecturing, authoring books, serving as a newspaper columnist, hosting his own radio show, and more recently, serving as a television judge on the popular show, The People's Court.

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch says he is supporting Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. Koch's comments came during an interview on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com. Koch says he believes the nomination will go to a floor fight at the Democratic convention. Koch also had unkind words for another former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who he described as "mean." That's the reason, Koch says, that Giuliani was not the GOP's presidential nominee.