Zohran Mamdani (USA)
➡️ ZOHRAN MAMDANI – Victory for the Progressive Democrat as New York City Mayor-Elect
New York City's Long-Awaited Dream is "Trump's Worst Nightmare"
The votes were counted on November 5th in the record-breaking 2025 New York City mayoral election. With more than a million votes, Mandani defeated Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. At 34 is set to become New York's youngest Mayor in over a century.
Voter turnout was the largest in New York for over 50 years. In his victory speech, Mamdani labelled his win as a "toppling of political dynasty", one which will put an end to "politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few". He will be sworn in on January 1st 2026.
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The First Muslim, South Asian & Youngest Mayor of New York
Mamdani is set to be a mayor of many firsts. Having risen from an unknown state lawmaker, Mamdani's political journey began in 2020 when he was first elected to the New York State Assembly. He was reelected without opposition for two more terms until he announced his candidacy for New York mayor in 2024.
Endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani's victory marks the first time a Muslim has been nominated in the mayoral election. In a display of his commitment to remain visible to the people of New York, Mamdani walked the length of Manhattan just days before the primary.
In his first speech as Mayor-Elect, the Ugandan-born, Palestine rights advocate quoted Eugene Debs, an apostle of industrial unionism in the early 20th Century. - "I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity"
He also honoured the working class of New York City, and made a shun to the wealthy elite and the concentration of power that they have amassed.
"Tonight we step out from the old to the new" - Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani's Vision
COST OF LIVING - New York City is the second most expensive place to live in the world. In 2021, 36% of households had insufficient income to cover their basic needs. The vast majority of New Yorkers are tenants, with half a million of them living in substandard housing. Zohran has proposed to increase tenant protection, hold landlords responsible for the conditions of their buildings, freeze rent, fully staff housing agencies, and triple the production of affordable, rent-stabilised homes.
FOOD PRICES - Food prices in the city have risen 25% since 2019, and the average cost of groceries in the city is 18% higher than the national average. To counter this, Mamdani plans to build a network of city-owned supermarkets which are exempt from rent and property taxes. This will allow shops to sell food at a wholesale price, passing the savings on to consumers.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT - The buses in New York City are the slowest in the country. Having already secured fare-free buses on five lines across the city, Mamdani has a proven track record in improving public transport. He aims to roll this out on every city bus, eliminating fares entirely. He will also create priority lanes and implement traffic management systems for buses to reduce commuter times.
SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES - After housing, the second biggest cost for New York's working families is childcare. Of all the demographics that are leaving the city, those with children under six are being forced out at double the rate of others. Mamdani will implement a radical free childcare scheme for children between 6 weeks and 5 years. He also plans to raise wages for childcare workers in line with those of teachers.
SAFETY ON THE STREETS - In comparison to other major U.S. cities, New York City ranks surprisingly well. Murders and shootings are near or at historic lows, and major felonies in 2025 have so far fallen from the previous year. That is not to say that there is not huge work still to be done, as all major types of crime are still higher than pre-pandemic levels. Mamdani will create the Department of Community Safety to prevent violence before it occurs. He will also invest in citywide mental health programs and crisis response, as well as expand gun violence prevention programs. With a focus on racism and religious hate crimes, he will increase funding to prevention programmes by 800%.
CORPORATE TAX HIKES - Mamdani's campaign promises are ambitious and exciting, but they come at a cost. He plans to finance his agenda through raising income tax for those who earn more than $1 million per year. His increase in corporate taxes to 11.5% would affect about 1,000 of the city's 250,000 businesses. Both combined would generate $9 billion per year in additional revenue.
Can Mamdani Deliver?
Mamdani's campaign was by far the most ambitious the city has seen in years. His promises to make the city more affordable attracted hundreds of thousands of supporters.
His bold stance has provided a much-needed resurgence for the left throughout the rest of the U.S., who eagerly looked on with hopeful trepidation. His campaign has given hope to other progressives with similar ideologies to run for office. His influence may even permeate into the Democratic Party in time for the midterm elections next year. A terrifying thought for Trump, I'm sure.
With 25% of the population, the equivalent of 2 million people, living in poverty, and half of working-age households struggling to meet their basic needs, New Yorkers are desperate for change, and expectations are high.
Current Mayor and former police captain Eric Adams spent much of his term mired in scandals, leaving New Yorkers stunned by his increasingly erratic decisions. His federal indictment on bribery and corruption charges was the final straw, as his approval rating sank as low as 20%.
New York's patience is wearing thin.
Although on the surface, Mamdani's funding for his agenda appears solid, fiscal responsibility is paramount to pull it off. His platform offers very few specifics and ignores risks such as higher earners leaving the city or big companies passing the tax hikes onto consumers.
With Trump's threats to cut funding for the city, Mamdani needs to be very careful with his budget and foresee challenges from the President, who is certainly not on his list of top supporters.
A further potential roadblock is Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, who, although she endorsed him in the mayoral race, has already made her stance clear against corporate tax hikes. Mamdani must navigate this relationship carefully as he will need her backing to achieve most of his goals.
Trump's Worst Nightmare
In the run-up to the election, Trump was a dark figure looming in the shadows. His threat to cut federal funding in the event of a Mamdani win was used as a cheap shot to boost support for the other candidates. After calling him a communist, he went on to predict that New York City would become "a complete and total economic and social disaster" under the leadership of Mamdani.
Trump has also threatened to arrest Mamdani if he does not cooperate with his inhumane spree of ICE deportations. In the latest bizarre comment, Trump, in an interview comparing the two, responded with petty slurs describing himself as a "much better-looking person!"
Not afraid to stand up to the bullying tactics of Trump, in his first speech after the winner was announced, Mamdani told Trump to "Turn the volume up," adding, "to get through any of us, you will have to get through all of us."
Trump's short but pointed response on social media was "... AND SO IT BEGINS!"
Paving the Way for Progressives Around the World
"This is not only how we stop Trump. It's how we stop the next one" - Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani's win is a victory for the left, a triumph for progressives, and a significant step in the right direction for the people of New York City. His victory proves that you can take on strongmen, you can stand up for what you believe in, for what is socially and morally just, you can beat the Israel lobby, the rich and powerful, and stand tall in the face of bullying, fascism, nationalism, smear campaigns, and disinformation.
This could be a turning point for a new era of people-centred politics. With Catherine Connolly now at the helm in Ireland, and politicians like Zack Polanski, Jeremy Corbyn, and Zarah Sultana gaining popularity, the success of Mamdani is a beacon of hope.
This does not just affect New York; it affects politics everywhere.
Author: Rachael Mellor, 06.11.25 licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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