The Mamdani Problem
The much-discussed Democratic primary to select a candidate to run for mayor of New York City is now behind us. The choice of candidates was a collection of politically damaged people who, under normal circumstances, had no business being on an electoral ballot anywhere, especially New York.
The sad reality is that in all likelihood, one of those folks who lined up in this week’s Democratic primary will end up being the next mayor of New York City. The good news is that just about any one of them—bar one or two—would be a better mayor than the incumbent, Eric Adams.
At the end of the process, this will be a four-way race between former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, Mayor Eric Adams, and the Republican candidate, radio broadcaster, Curtis Sliwa.
For too many people, it is a foregone conclusion that New York City is hopelessly Democratic. If there is any hope to break the Democratic stranglehold on New York City, it will require that somehow Cuomo, Mamdani, and Adams split the Democratic vote in November, paving the way for a Sliwa victory.
Andrew Cuomo
Curtis Sliwa
The fact is that New York has a proud history of electing Republican candidates at both the statewide and city level—sometimes. Hence, we try to never say never. Of course, past Republican mayors included the man who became known as “America’s Mayor,” Rudy Giuliani. Statewide, we managed to elect a Republican governor in George Pataki, who served three terms, or 12 years.
The years following Pataki in Albany and Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg (who also served 12 years) in New York City have seen a downward spiral of the quality of life in New York City. The only good thing so many critics have said about Eric Adams is that his predecessor, Bill De Blasio, was so much worse.
But in his own right, Eric Adams has presided over his own little disaster area for the last three-plus years. Here in the Five Towns, we fortunately do not have to vote for any of this assortment of political clowns. But at the same time, we are close enough to New York City to have to deal with the spillover effect of whoever ends up running the city via this current electoral process.
The leader of the pack was Andrew Cuomo, who comes to the electoral table with his very own assortment of political problems. He is shrouded in controversy from multiple directions, and it was some of those issues that forced him to resign as governor in 2022.
Still, even though non-profit groups do not usually endorse specific candidates, the Far Rockaway politically active apparatus endorsed Mr. Cuomo for the primaries. I also recently saw an announcement from the Bobov chassidic group in Boro Park urging their followers to vote for Cuomo.
Andrew Cuomo was a less-than-stellar governor who was forced to resign his office in utter disgrace. The charges of harassing female staff in Albany were just a small part of his problems a few years ago. Even though he promoted himself as the “great savior” of New York during the COVID period, it turns out that his flawed policies resulted in the tragic deaths of 15,000 people during the pandemic. He subsequently wrote a book on leadership during the COVID crisis. That book is just about on par with Senator Chuck Schumer writing a book on how to fight anti-Semitism.
Then-Governor Cuomo mandated that hospitals return COVID patients to the nursing homes from which they came. Cuomo wrote into law at the time that none of the nursing homes that accepted patients with COVID (or recovering from COVID) from hospitals would be held liable if they spread the virus, which resulted in other residents dying.
Aside from Cuomo and Mamdani facing off, there are also another half-dozen candidates in the primary race. In brief, this is what happened Tuesday night: Zohran Mamdani came out on top, beating Cuomo by about eight points. In the New York City voting system, that is a victory of sorts, but not an absolute victory yet. Judging by the numbers, which will not be final until July 1, it looks like New Yorkers have had their fill of Mr. Cuomo. Mr. Cuomo, however, is now deciding whether to run as an independent.
Mamdani emerged into prominence by showcasing his Jew-hatred and anti-Israel positions. Some of his other favorite issues are promises of free bus and train transportation. This in a city where most people get on a bus or a train without paying anyway.
Other than that, he wants to create a network of city-owned grocery stores that focus on keeping prices low by selling at “wholesale” and not having to pay rent or property taxes. In addition, he wants permanent rent freezes, which is not good for property owners in New York City.
Mamdani is a socialist in the Bernie Sanders and AOC tradition. Essentially, that’s calling for the chaos we have seen during the past year to become a permanent part of daily life in the city.
Mamdani has identified himself as being associated with the pro-Palestine slogan that is “Globalize the intifada,” which is clearly a call to destroy Israel and kill Jews. As Mamdani gained popularity, he began telling interviewers that the slogan in Arabic meant something different than what it means to those who chant it on our college campuses in English. As we go to print, Mamdani has vowed not to “abandon his beliefs,” so we can take him at his word. He also reiterated that the plight of the Palestinians is the reason he got into politics.
Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive director of the Orthodox Union, states that, “The safety of all New Yorkers, including Jewish New Yorkers, is the single greatest responsibility of the mayor of New York. That safety has been deeply impacted by the rhetoric and actions of those whose opposition to Zionism has driven them to work to instill fear and intimidation in Jews who support Israel.
“As the party nominee, it is time for Mr. Mamdani to move from disturbance to responsibility and to unambiguously reject and reign in these actors with whom he has been strongly associated. He needs to prioritize the safety and security of New Yorkers over his ‘strong feelings about what happens overseas.’”
Mamdani is additionally well-known for his “Free Palestine” chants and his assertion that if and when Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to New York, he will have him arrested as directed by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Netanyahu is probably not coming to New York anytime soon. When next he comes to New York for the UN General Assembly meeting in September, he will arrive as all diplomats do, with diplomatic immunity, and not under the jurisdiction of the NYPD. The Mamdani gibberish on that policy is just words of a mumbling, bumbling politician.
Mamdani has also campaigned to defund the police in New York City. He has said that under his administration, when you call 911 for any kind of an emergency, he would prefer that social workers are sent to the scene rather than the police.
Zohran Mamdani is a future problem for New Yorkers. Polls have shown that 20% of Jews in New York voted for him, so his winning the primary is something that can be referred to as “getting what you wished for.”
This week, many New Yorkers are hoping that these developments will pave the way for a Sliwa victory and commonsense governance of New York.
Sliwa needs the Trump backing to have even a remote chance of success. As we know, however, Trump has connected himself with Eric Adams. For either Adams or Sliwa to have a chance of beating Mamdani, one of them will have to withdraw from the race. Right now, it doesn’t look like either of them is inclined to do that.
That’s what New York needs, but what will the Jewish community leaders do when it comes to their political endorsements? Are they going to endorse the anti-Jewish candidate Mamdani or just remain silent and very worried about the future of Jewish life in New York? n
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
