You Don’t Mess with the Zohran!
A Short Explainer of the Problems the Next Mayor (whoever it is) will Face
Right now, a 33-year-old democratic socialist is apparently leading the race to become mayor of NYC.
This comes after the November election in which the entire nation, along with even NY and NJ voters moved rightward, which was seen as an emphatic repudiation of the Democratic party.
So, what does the NY Democratic party do just months later? Help prop up a decrepit, sexual harasser for mayor, of course!
That Mamdani has a real shot demonstrates both his undeniable campaign talents and the feckless incompetence of New York's gerontocratic Democratic establishment. Many of whom, including Bill Clinton, have endorsed Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former NY governor who resigned after a history of sexual harassment, corruption, lying and bullying.
Objectively speaking, Mamdani has run one of the most impressive campaigns in recent NYC political memory. With 1 million social media followers and $8 million raised from small donors, he's appeared on podcasts, YouTube shows and radio programs, reaching low-propensity voters (just as Trump did) who have given up on politics. His success reflects how social media has democratized campaigns. Just as Trump dominated the Presidential election through digital influencers, Mamdani proved that with charisma and great social media, a little-known politician can build a movement from scratch.
Free For All!
Zohran’s supporters believe he is authentically focused on making the city affordable for working-class people. He's promised free buses, free daycare, a rent freeze and city owned grocery stores. To accomplish this, he wants to borrow $70 billion over 10 years, on top of the $25 billion already committed to affordable housing. On crime, he wants $1.1 billion for a new mental health department instead of relying on the NYPD, plus $450 million for a new public safety department.
More importantly, the dude has serious fucking Rizz and is handsome as hell. He just has that special sauce, it’s undeniable.
Meanwhile, Cuomo is running an atrocious campaign. He legit seems miserable, hasn’t done any press, nor provided any comprehensive plans. It's unclear he even wants to be mayor, a major downgrade from governor. He'd also have to answer to his former Lt. Governor as his boss, which should make for a truly awkward dynamic.
I want to take a moment here to remind my readers/NY voters just what Cuomo did in office.
Cuomo created the Moreland Commission to investigate political corruption, only to shut it down 2 months later when it threatened his own interests. He was later hit with corruption charges, credibly accused of sexually harassing 11 women, brazenly lied to cover up nursing home COVID deaths, severely mismanaged the MTA and built his career on intimidation and vengeance.
Mamdani is dominating with college graduates (67% support), leads with Asian voters, but trails Cuomo with Black voters (39% to 16%). On crime, voters prefer Cuomo 71% to 6%. Surprisingly, Women back Cuomo by 19 points (apparently they don’t like getting attacked in the subway). Jews, who make up 16% of the electorate, have concerns about Mamdani’s support for BDS and Columbia protests. Cuomo leads 31% to 20% among Jewish voters. Overall, Mamdani draws young voters in progressive areas while older voters prefer Cuomo.
An interesting wrinkle is that Cuomo can run as an independent in the general after securing a ballot for the "Fight and Deliver" party. This would mean a four-way general election with a corrupt ex-mayor, a disgraced ex-governor, a millennial muslim socialist and perennial Republican punching bag Curtis Sliwa.
The Broken Systems He'd Inherit
Idk if you heard, but NYC is broken.
Let’s start with NYC's housing crisis. The main public housing program NYCHA, which he wants to use to build new affordable units, is going bankrupt with > 600,000 open work orders and $80 billion in capital needs. The rent stabilization system is crumbling with 10% of older apartments losing money. Owners stopped investing after 2019 laws capped rent hikes at 2% for improvements and banned 20% vacancy increases. Meanwhile, Trump's proposed budget would cut $27 billion in federal housing aid.
On mental health, Mamdani wants to replace police with social workers, but the current system can't handle the existing demand. B-HEARD, the city's mental health crisis response team, created in 2021, failed to respond to over 13,000 calls for mental health workers, with only 18 teams covering the entire city.
The immigration crisis also shows how federal problems get dumped on mayors. Over 210,000 migrants have arrived since 2022 (thanks Gov Abbott), costing the city $7 billion. The city pays $352 per night to house each migrant. Mamdani promises to protect sanctuary status, but hasn’t offered a plan for managing these crushing costs.
The Bureaucratic and Financial Maze
Even with unlimited political will, NYC government is a bureaucratic nightmare, with 50+ agencies, each with union contracts and personal agendas. The teachers’ union alone has contracts running hundreds of pages. The police union fights every reform. Transit workers, sanitation workers, and city employees can torpedo policies they don't like. This bureaucratic maze has defeated reform mayors for decades.
The money problems make this difficult. To borrow $70 billion, Mamdani needs state approval. The city can currently borrow $41 billion, declining to $33 billion by 2027, but NYC already has $104 billion in debt and spends $7.7 billion annually on debt service. Passing his policies would require the state assembly to approve a massive borrowing spree during the highest interest rates in 20 years and persistent inflation.
Mamdani also wants to raise corporate taxes and add a 2% income tax on residents earning over $1 million. NYC businesses already pay the highest combined corporate taxes in the country. I don’t think this would drive that many companies away, as this city is still the commercial capital of the world, but he doesn’t even have the unilateral authority to raise taxes anyway.
Conclusion
I know this is all coming across as the white moderate lecturing the far-left voters for believing in Santa Claus. I don't want to poo poo everything! I just want to unpack the nightmare of NYC politics and explain the uphill battle any of these mayors would face.
Awesome campaign skills don't always translate to governing ability. Just look at Mayor Brandon Johnson in Chicago, who rode leftist campaign momentum and now sits ~14% approval rating. I genuinely appreciate Mamdani's talents and the Dems should take note of his ability to inspire voters! In a city where many have given up on politics, he offers hope that change is possible.
But governing requires building coalitions, not just movements. Mamdani's supporters aren't wrong to want bold change. The status quo isn't working for working-class New Yorkers. The question is whether the system he'd inherit would allow that hope to survive contact with reality.
*I say this as a Jew, but journalists asking mayoral candidates to swear fealty to Israel is super weird. We all know he isn’t a super/fan of Israel, but he’s running to be mayor of NY, not Tel Aviv. If you think he’s anti-Semitic, just say that instead of whatever this is.