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Who Is Zohran Mamdani? [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-06-23
I don’t have a donkey in the New York mayoral race, but I do want to some analysis of the race’s two top candidates.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo is, for better and worse, a known quantity. His personality, beliefs, and baggage are generally common knowledge.
the same can not be said of his opponent, Zohran Mamdani.
This is what cnn says about Mamdani: amp.cnn.com/...
Mamdani is a three-term state assemblyman who represents parts of Queens, one the most diverse areas in the nation. He is an immigrant from Uganda who was first raised in Cape Town, South Africa, and later in New York City, attending the prestigious Bronx High School of Science before enrolling at Bowdoin College. He is the son of Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, and Mira Nair, an Indian filmmaker whose credits include “Mississippi Masala” and “Monsoon Wedding.” Prior to his mayoral campaign, Mamdani made national headlines in 2021 when he joined New York City cab drivers on a 15-day hunger strike seeking relief from excessive debt. He also moonlighted as a rapper under the stage name Mr. Cardamom rapping about chapati, an Indian flatbread, and worked as foreclosure prevention counselor.
… Mamdani wants to freeze the rent for nearly 1 million New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments and provide free city bus service, universal childcare and city-subsidized grocery stores. Mamdani has said he will pay for it all by raising taxes on the city’s wealthiest, even though he would have little power to do so from City Hall. Taxes can be raised or lowered only by state lawmakers with approval from the governor. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has already thrown cold water on the proposal, saying the move is likely to drive more New Yorkers out of the concrete jungle and toward Florida and other lower-tax destinations.
That is not the only reason why certain Democrats are concerned.
Democratic establishment concern was laid out in a recent call held by Third Way, a national think tank that favors a centrist political agenda. The group released a memo last week, warning that a Mamdani’s win would be “a devastating blow in the fight to defeat Trumpism.” “We’re really worried about all Democrats going forward if Mamdani were to win,” Matt Bennett, executive vice president for public affairs, told reporters during the call. “Even if he doesn’t win the election, if he just wins the Democratic nomination, that can hurt Democrats.” Cuomo has made his long career in government and experience with President Donald Trump the cornerstones of his comeback run. He dismisses Mamdani as an inexperienced leader with unrealistic ideas and suggests Trump would run through Mamdani like “a hot knife through butter.”
To be fair to Mamdani, he has certainly harnessed the energy of the base and frustrated democratic voters. But I also share concerns that he would become an political anchor the Republican Party would use to tar democrats by association.
given that Kos hasn’t endorsed any candidates in the race, I think they have similar concerns.
what say you?
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/23/2329622/-Who-Is-Zohran-Mamdani?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
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