New York City Democrats' Mayoral Choice: Breath of Fresh Air or Same Old Same Old?
Matt Bernardini looks at the stark choice now being faced by voters in the Big Apple
In these chaotic times for American politics, it’s hard for those on the left to find much to be excited about. Yet, the month of June offers a chance for a new vision of the future, and the opportunity to secure one of the biggest prizes in electoral politics, the New York city mayoral office.
The battle is currently between the young, fresh and boldly leftist Zohran Mamdani, who has outlined a plethora of policy issues that would offer a great boost to working people who are increasingly falling behind in the world’s most expensive city.
Then there is Andrew Cuomo, the scandal-ridden former Governor of New York, who embodies everything that is wrong with the consultant class of Democrats that have run the party for decades and delivered nothing to average voters.
With just weeks to go until the June 24th primary elections, the race has tightened to a near draw. A new Emerson poll has Mamdani within single digits of Cuomo, after previously having trailed by more than 20 points. Because New York is overwhelmingly a Democratic city, the primary winner is almost guaranteed to become the city’s next Mayor.
The stakes in the already high-profile election have become even greater, given that a Mamdani victory could signal a new way forward for the Democratic party and progressive policies in general.
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Mamdani is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, a label that would have been political suicide in the US just ten years ago, until Bernie Sanders leaned into the term himself. Socialist or not, Mamdani’s policies would objectively better the lives of most New Yorkers, and could potentially signal the end of the neoliberal era that the Democratic party has been stuck in for four decades.
His platform consists of a profusion of policies that much of the Washington establishment would call “extreme”, but which are actually quite sensible and would be well within the political norm in Europe.
His signature policy is a freeze on rents in New York City, a place that is already considered the costliest in America and one of the most expensive areas in the world. He also wants to ensure that the city’s buses are free and more reliable, a necessity for a city where driving is a nightmare.
“As Mayor, he’ll permanently eliminate the fare on every city bus – and make them faster by rapidly building priority lanes, expanding bus queue jump signals, and dedicated loading zones to keep double parkers out of the way,” Mamdani’s website says.
Other policy proposals include free universal childcare, city-owned grocery stores to quell the rising food costs, and an increase in taxes on big corporations and wealthy New Yorkers. Importantly, he’s also pledged to renovate schools to make them compatible with renewable energy, a vital step to address the climate crisis, which is no longer even discussed in American politics.
Contrast this with Cuomo, who might be aptly described as the Democratic party’s Donald Trump, if not for current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was indicted last year on charges of bribery, fraud, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The Trump administration announced earlier this year that they would no longer pursue that case, in exchange for Adams’ cooperation on Trump’s immigration policies.
Cuomo’s Problems
Cuomo is attempting to complete a major political comeback, similar to Trump, after leaving the New York Governor’s office tarred with scandals and sexual assault allegations. Starting in December 2020, multiple women came out and accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, including allegations of creating a toxic work environment, and forcibly kissing several of his aides, as well as making unwanted advances on others. Reporters for Bloomberg and Politico also made accusations of untoward behavior. As the scandal unfolded, a plethora of local and national Democratic politicians called for Cuomo’s resignation. After a criminal investigation was launched, the New York Governor stepped down in August 2021.
Even before the scandal, the truth is that Cuomo was a terrible Governor for anyone who considers themselves a progressive. During his time as leader of New York state, he was the biggest opposition to the state’s attempts to raise the minimum wage.
“He only got to $15 after massive national campaign pressure and a commitment from SEIU [Service Employees International Union] to basically run a multimillion-dollar ad campaign” Alison Hirsh, who was the political director and vice president for building service workers union 32BJ SEIU at the time, told Politico last week.
Even worse, he actively helped to amplify state Republicans. With his support, eight New York state Senate Democrats formed the Independent Democratic Conference in 2011, which caucused with Republicans. The organization repeatedly blocked progressive ambitions to help the general public. But several of them did cash out by getting lobbyist jobs.
Then there was the massive New York nursing home scandal early during the COVID-19 pandemic. New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report that found Cuomo had understated the number of pandemic-related deaths in nursing homes by as much as 83%. He did this to avoid the appearance of bad politics, lives be damned.
Now the Trump administration is seeking to use that scandal to hold leverage over Cuomo, similar to the way they did with Eric Adams. It was reported recently that Trump’s Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation against Cuomo, regarding his testimony to Congress about the nursing home deaths.
‘Competence and Courage’?
Now you would think, with all of these scandals and bad policy, that Democratic party leaders would be distancing themselves as far as possible from Cuomo. Not the case unfortunately. Ten New York politicians who had called on Cuomo to resign after the sexual assault allegations had surfaced, now have endorsed him in the mayoral race. That includes House Democrat Ritchie Torres, considered one of the rising young stars in the party by corporate Democrats. Torres said that Cuomo would provide the “competence and courage” needed for the position.
This is laughable DC-speak that is so blatantly false, and it’s exactly what so many voters in this country are tired of.
The real courage is displayed by Mamdani, who has gone against the big money establishment that so controls our politics, and has had the courage to think outside the box and provide fresh new solutions for the future.
That’s the path that the Democratic Party should be taking. If they instead decide to stick with a scandal-ridden politician from a previous era, then 2028 might not look so promising.