I lived in Manhattan for 30 years, and now I’m directly across the river, with a view from New Jersey of the Upper West Side, but Wednesday night I felt the earthquake in the city when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded New York City's Democratic mayoral primary.
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It was a jolt of energy to City Hall. In a stunning upset that feels equal parts inevitable and revolutionary, 32-year-old state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani won the primary for mayor, positioning him as the likely next leader of America’s largest city.
For anyone still clinging to the idea that experience always trumps vision, allow me to remind you that they said the same thing about a young senator named Barack Obama. They were wrong then. And they’re wrong now.
People said Pete Buttigieg was too green to be mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and then he became a national figure and Cabinet member. Randall Woodfin became mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, at 36 and launched one of the most progressive city agendas in the Deep South. These are not anomalies. They are harbingers of what’s possible when voters are ready to look forward and turn to youth to revitalize them.
Yes, yes, I know South Bend and Birmingham are not the somewhat unmanageable and heavily populated five boroughs of NYC, but both mayors brought something special to their cities.
Skeptics are wringing their hands over Mamdani’s age and inexperience, but folks like me who follow city politics passionately and have done so for years are marveling at his political boldness. He is a dynamic shift from recent administrations.
Mamdani, the son of Indian and Ugandan immigrants, a democratic socialist, and a proud champion of working people and marginalized communities, represents something that is desperately needed from city leadership, and that’s urgency. And perhaps even more important, imagination.
Contrast that with the specter of Cuomo, who tried to reenter public life running for mayor, which I think most voters saw through. Lots of voters saw his candidacy as a way to rehabilitate his reputation. Also, it’s really hard to let go of power once you’ve tasted it. When you lose it, you desperately want it all back again.
At 68, Cuomo would’ve been a regression, dragging behind him a trail of sexual harassment allegations, a disastrous COVID nursing home scandal, and an almost pathological inability to own up to any of it. Maybe he was in the right, but who knows? Regardless, I think voters sensed a lack of remorse from him. At least I did.
One of the other things is that Cuomo seemed to rely on his name recognition, rather than put his boots on the ground and campaign hard. That’s what Mamdani did, so that perception was out there.
Then Cuomo received an endorsement from Bill Clinton, a president who is widely admired but also has his own baggage of inappropriate behavior. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bill Clinton, but his endorsement sent the wrong message because it was another nod to the past.
It’s hard to believe that Clinton hasn’t been in office in 25 years. There are young voters, who predominantly backed Mamdani, who have no idea who Clinton is, so the endorsement didn’t matter to them
In this race, voters weren’t just choosing a mayor. They were choosing an era and a new one.
So, while Cuomo trotted out the ’90s, Mamdani brought the future. His endorsement from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another 30-something who embodies generational change, energized the grassroots and activated young, working-class, and progressive voters across the boroughs..
I never thought I’d say this, but the backing of AOC was so much more consequential than that of a former president of the United States.
That youth represented some much needed pizzazz. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve had 12 sleepy years at City Hall. I think what former Mayor Bill de Blasio is most remembered for is his long, introspective strolls through Prospect Park while the city’s problems went unattended. The New York Post had a field day following him around. It was really embarrassing.
And what to say about the man who succeeded him, Eric Adams? I was thrilled by his election; however, he traded in early promise for press conferences and courtrooms, embroiled in corruption investigations and increasingly erratic behavior.
Then came his capitulation to Donald Trump. Trust me, Trump is still loathed by most New Yorkers, and Adams really did himself in by making a deal with Trump and his henchmen, who had his corruption case dismissed by Trump’s Department of Justice. The evidence against Adams was overwhelming, and that’s putting it mildly..
Adams is now running as an independent, but in my conversations with neighbors and friends across the five boroughs, the consensus is clear: It’s time for him to go.
I moved to New York in 1993, when Rudy Giuliani shocked the city by defeating David Dinkins, our first Black mayor. Giuliani was a Republican, and yes, Republicans are a rare species in this city, but his win was a political anomaly.
In my humble opinion, Giuliani was a disaster. He was an egomaniacal racist whose post-9/11 rise to “America’s Mayor” status fed his worst impulses. After him came Mike Bloomberg, who was effective, if imperial. He at least supported the LGBTQ+ community and modernized city services, even if he did buy himself a third term.
Then came de Blasio, who had no real management experience and governed like a man sleepwalking. His strongest point was his support for LGBTQ+ rights, including his openly queer wife, Chirlane McCray. That was the closest someone from our community got to City Hall. I mean someone who was out. You can read between the lines if you’re old enough.
Mamdani, by contrast, has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. As a state legislator, he cosponsored the Gender Identity Respect, Dignity, and Safety Act and has pushed for greater access to housing, health care, and legal protections for transgender and nonbinary people.
This city needs more leaders who see people. The working class. Queer people. Immigrants. People who make the city function but can no longer afford to live here. I say this as a 61-year-old, still youthful man who loves this city with his whole heart but who realizes we need fresh blood.
All told, his victory is not a sign that the Democratic Party is sprinting to the left. It’s a sign that voters are starving for something, anything, that feels real, creative, and new. Mamdani used social media to perfection. He dumbed down the messaging to bite-size morsels. That's something Trump does, although dumbed-down literally, not simply.
Most Democrats don’t know how to simplify. They tend to explain everything. I watched some of Mamdani’s speeches, and that's what Democrats running for office should do.
Despite what pundits are saying, this isn’t about labels like “progressive” or “centrist.” or “socialist.” Voters aren’t naive. It’s about connecting. The party’s real struggle right now isn’t ideological. No, it’s to be imaginative. Too often, it feels hamstrung by old strategies, recycled slogans, and a failure to break through the noise.
Mamdani did something different. He got loud. He got urgent. He got personal. And people listened. He was a breath of fresh air.
Hey, the money set will go after him for sure. He will be vilified in the general election; however, there’s a lesson from his victory . If you want to win, don’t try to resurrect the past; focus on the future, show some imagination and pizzazz, and get to the point.
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