For months, I have been dreading the democratic primary in New York City. Not that there wasn’t a candidate I was excited about. On the contrary, I was very excited about one in particular and I was afraid that a man like Andrew Cuomo would win instead.
Lucky for me, New York gave me home again. Zohran Mamdani, one of the only candidates to propose childcare options, a rent freeze, and a myriad of solutions for issues that everyday New Yorkers face, has taken the candidacy for the democratic party. Our current mayor, who ran as a Democratic and betrayed us all, Eric Adams, is still up for re-election as an independent.
Mamdani’s win not only showed what New Yorkers are capable of but it also gave us a clear example of how a grassroots campaign can work. The first time I heard of Mamdani, it was through videos of him on the street talking with New Yorkers. He was there when the Knicks were winning (sorry about that, guys). And it just seems like Mamdani cares about this city and New Yorkers as a whole. He lives here, knows the best places to eat, and actually cares about the people who live here and vote.
Men like Andrew Cuomo want the title of “mayor.” They want us all to forget their past actions and the fact that they had to resign in disgrace. And we didn’t! We refused to let Cuomo, who wouldn’t look out for an actual New Yorker, win.
Mamdani ran on policies like a rent freeze and to me, that’s the bare minimum of what all candidates should be doing! It is almost impossible to afford New York if you’re not rich and that’s NOT what this city is about.
An actual good thing happening!?
There are people who don’t like Mamdani. Mostly rich people on the Upper West Side who think that he’ll tax them too much. But for the most part, the vast majority of us love him because we’re tired of spending so much money to just live in this city we love! We shouldn’t be struggling to pay our rent, barely able to survive, as the rich in this city continue to get wealthier.
Cuomo was never going to look out for New Yorkers. He barely lives here. He wanted to just play mayor to try and revive the career he lost himself. So I am glad that Mamdani ended up winning. It felt a dream that I never thought could be a reality.
There is still work to do. Mamdani is not yet our mayor and we have to still vote to see what will happen in November but being able to say that New York didn’t let a man like Cuomo win is exciting and refreshing. So yes, everyone is celebrating on social media right now but can you blame us? We had all resigned ourselves to the fact that these
(featured image: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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