New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani won the primary election with more votes than any other candidate in decades.
His proposals to offer free child care, freeze rent for millions of residents living in rent-controlled buildings and make buses free are some of the most popular in one of the most expensive cities in the world. The proposal to build more than 10,000 housing units has also generated great enthusiasm among young families.
In a poll by the New York Times and Siena University, published on Tuesday, September 9, Mamdani emerges as the winner with 46% of voters in his favor, Andrew Cuomo 24%, Republican Curtis Sliwa, 15% and Mayor Eric Adams, 9%.
With all this going for him, Mamdani still does not receive the support of Governor Kathy Hochul, other key members of the party, such as Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries. Both minority leaders in Congress.
The lack of support for Mamdani, on the part of these leaders, reflects a fundamental problem in the Democratic party which is the lack of unity. At this point, it’s pure cowardice. They are afraid that Republicans will accuse them of being socialists.
This is because Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, an independent organization that proposes a more active role for the government in the economy.
The truth is that in a city so expensive to live in, many residents need some type of help. Whether in the form of subsidies for income, for health care or public transportation.
According to a report published by United Way in April 2023. “50% of residents in New York City need help from the government or the community to cover their expenses.” Child care, for example, is a real problem with families paying over $26,000 a year, according to City Comptroller Brad Lander’s office in 2024.
If Governor Hochul is afraid of being accused of being a socialist, perhaps she should remind Republicans that Fiorello La Guardia, who was also accused of being a socialist, was a member of the Republican party.
Thanks to La Guardia’s “socialist” interventions, the city extended train services to the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. The train lines, A,B,D,E,F that transport millions of people every day, are the product of social programs, developed by Mayor La Guardia, in the first decades of the 20th century.
From airport, housing projects, zoos, parks, public pools, La Guardia used the government to develop the city and improve the quality of life of its residents. Today he is remembered as the best mayor New York City has ever had.
It is time for the governor to show her leadership and publicly demonstrate in support of her party’s candidate. Although she does not live in the city, nor does she pay rent, as she lives for free in the executive mansion in Albany, she must remember that her political future depends on the voters in New York City.
Martha Elena Cruz is a Dominican educator. cruzmarthae@yahoo.com