As the 2025 New York City’s 2025 mayoral elections come closer, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the leading Democratic candidate, with 34% of voters saying he was their top choice. But Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani from Queens is quickly becoming a formidable contender as the race continues. Mamdani’s hyper-progressive policies — that calls for a whole-of-government approach to community issues — will attempt to relieve New York City’s working class of the city’s growing unaffordability. Although many of his opponents have adopted more centrist positions for the sake of popularity, Mamdani has remained unwavering in his left-leaning beliefs, appealing to the New Yorkers who feel abandoned by their leaders with a campaign that speaks to their real, daily struggles.
New York City made the list of top 10 cities with the highest income inequality last year, making it crucial that voters truly understand which candidates are working for their benefit and which are passing pro-corporation policies that will only create a deeper rift in the wealth gap.
Mamdani has pushed housing affordability to the forefront of his campaign, vowing to stabilize rent prices for tenants, build more affordable housing and crack down on malicious landlords. In response to half a million New Yorkers living in substandard housing, he has proposed a system that will allow tenants to schedule and track inspections and enable the city to step in and do the repairs themselves when landlords fail to do so. In cases where landlords are chronically neglectful, he proposes a city take over of such properties.
He has introduced a Comprehensive City Plan that will work to address the legacy of racially discriminatory zoning and support climate sustainability by increasing housing near transit hubs. Backed by several labor unions, Mamdani also champions a workers first agenda — raising the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030, expanding worker rights protections and lowering daily expenses by getting rid of the fare for buses and having government-owned grocery stores.
Mamdani’s plans to fund these programs by raising taxes for New York’s ultra wealthy to fund these government programs. While critics call this too radical, it is a necessary step toward remedying a system that concentrates excessive wealth in a few hands while tens of thousands are thrown onto the streets every year.
Mamdani’s progressive platform is in sharp contrast to the conservative shift that has defined American politics following the 2024 presidential election. In response to this rising conservatism, other democratic candidates, such as Cuomo and Brad Lander, have adopted more centrist positions when it comes to issues such as policing and public safety — walking back their previously progressive stances to opt for more moderate messaging.
Mamdani has refused to follow suit, making no such walkbacks and continuing to embrace his left-leaning views — even when it’s politically inconvenient. His unapologetically progressive viewpoints are a refreshing change of pace for young voters who are disillusioned with the increasingly centrist Democratic party. He is one of the few candidates who has been outspoken in his support for Palestine, accusing Israel of committing genocide and affirming that he would hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for war crimes if he ever stepped foot in New York. Amid growing Islamophobia, Mamdani affirmed his pride in being Muslim, saying this election is the time to “tell the world that Muslims don’t just belong in New York City but that we belong in City Hall.”
If elected, Mamdani would not just reshape our city’s politics, he would send a strong message to the rest of the country: That the most populous city fiercely refuses to give in to this rightward political shift. In a moment where federal checks and balances are growing increasingly ineffective, it is local governments that must take a strong stance in defense of justice and equity. New York City’s strength is in its refusal to compromise on diversity and freedom of thought. This election is an opportunity to affirm those ideals by electing a candidate that has never wavered on these values.Read more about Mamdani’s campaign platform here.
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Contact Serin Lee at [email protected].
