Zohran Mamdani won the NYC Mayoral Election on Nov. 4. This election was between Mamdani, a Democratic; Andrew Cuomo, an Independent; and Curtis Sliwa, a Republican. This election had nearly twice as many voters as 2021, according to the New York Times.
According to his Wikipedia page, Mamdani, born in 1991, is an immigrant from Kampala, Uganda. He then moved to South Africa, and finally NYC at age 7, maintaining dual citizenship between Uganda and the U.S.. He started in politics with Ali Najmi’s 2015 campaign for City Council, and joined the New York State Assembly in 2020.
Mamdani is a democratic socialist, which Britannica defines as a “political ideology that supports the establishment of a democratically run and decentralized form of socialist economy.” He believes in raising NYC’s minimum wage to $30, universal childcare, raising the upper class’s taxes, and free public transportation.
According to his Wikipedia page, Cuomo was born in NYC in 1957. In 2011, he became the New York governor, but resigned in 2021 due to controversies, such as his use of tax-payer money for personal expenses, poor COVID-19 protocol, and many sexual misconduct accusations.
Though he ran as an Independent in this election, Cuomo is a Democrat. His campaign website states that he believes in improving NYC’s education, affordability, safety, healthcare, economy, and also combating homelessness, mental-health/addiction crises, and antisemitism.
According to his Wikipedia page, Sliwa was born in NYC in 1954. He’s a radio show host and a former member of the NYPD. In 1977, he created a group called the “Magnificent 13,” who stood up against violence on the subway. It was later revealed that they faked 6 incidents for publicity. Though Republican, Sliwa does not identify with MAGA. He’s an advocate for gay marriage, separation of church and state, women’s right to abortion, gun control, and lowering taxes.
Mamdani began campaigning a year before the election, going door to door in every NYC borough and building his social media platform. He specifically focused his campaign on the middle class, expressing his plans to make NYC a more affordable city. Mamdani also had the help of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, who appeared at his rallies.
During the debates, Cuomo’s main argument against Mamdani was his lack of experience: “This is not a job for on-the-job training. He never has had a job. On his resume, it said he interned for his mother,” said Cuomo during the NYC Mayoral General Election Debate.
“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity. And what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience,” responded Mamdani during the debate.
During a debate, Mamdani spoke out against Cuomo’s past controversies. Previously, a woman named Charlotte Bennet spoke out against Cuomo for his inappropriate questions about her personal life. “She [Bennett] cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her,” said Mamdani. “I, however, can speak — what do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harrassed?”
Sliwa made remarks on both of these issues during the debate, stating, “Zohran, your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin. And, Andrew, your failures could fill a public school library in New York City.”
Another hot issue was Cuomo’s relationship with Trump. “It is a balance, but you’re going to have to be adversarial when you need to” said Cuomo during the debate. “But you want to cooperate to get good things done in this city, and you need federal help.”
Mamdani then called Cuomo “Donald Trump’s puppet.”
In the end, Mamdani won with 50.4% of the vote, according to CNN. His initial goal is to make NYC more affordable through various methods, according to the New York Times.
His first and most expensive method is to create universal childcare for every child 5 and under. This would extend childcare to older children, create new daycare facilities, and hire more childcare workers. Another plan includes creating free and fast buses for everyone. Currently, the buses move at 8mph on average. He wants more bus lanes and free fare.He also plans to create five city-owned grocery stores. This idea, borrowed from Chicago, includes the city covering the stores’ expenses so food can be sold at the cheapest price. He also plans to freeze the rent.
