New York State Representative Zohran Mamdani has made headlines in the news regarding his campaign in the NYC mayoral race. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Mamdani has captured the hearts of young New Yorkers. He has also secured endorsements from primary Democratic figures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies. This article provides an analysis into Mamdani, his campaign, and his politics.
WHO IS ZOHRAN MAMDANI?
Zohran Kwame Mamdani was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda. He emigrated with his family when he was seven years old to New York City. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College, where he co-founded the campus chapter for Students for Justice in Palestine. Mamdani later became a naturalized American citizen in 2018.
Prior to his political career, Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counselor. This was where he began to develop his stark stance on the housing crisis in the U.S. As State Assemblyman, Mamdani works for people in the neighborhoods of Astoria, Ditmars-Steinway, and Astoria Heights as part of District 36. The New York Assembly website states that within these neighborhoods, Mamdani is “helping low-income homeowners of color across Queens fight off eviction.”
ASTORIA – all data can be proofed HERE
In 2023, the median household income in the neighborhood of Astoria was $87,800 – 10% more than the city-wide median household income of $79,480. The city-wide poverty rate was at 18.2%, while Astoria’s was at 13.2%.
As for demographics, there were around 200,000 people residing in Astoria in 2023. 48% identified as White, 24% as Hispanic, 16.2% as Asian, and 7.5% as Black. This neighborhood represents a primarily middle-working-class population. Housing costs and household incomes are increasing, although the demand is sustained in the area given its’ close proximity to Manhattan.
DITMARS-STEINWAY – all data can be proofed HERE
This neighborhood has an estimated total population of 50,000 people. The average median income is around $50,000, with 94% employment being white collar employment. The diverse makeup of the neighborhood includes 61% of residents as White, 22% Hispanic, 9% Asian, and 5% Black.
ASTORIA HEIGHTS – all data can be proofed HERE
This neighborhood is home to around 6,000 people. Of these, 71% are White, 17.3% are Hispanic, 10.1% are Asian, and 0.6% are Black. The median household income is $61,000. Regarding individuals between the age of 16 and 64 who are unemployed or not in the labor force, 54.3% are Black, 38.9% are mixed, 32.5% are Asian, 29.4% are Hispanic, and 25.8% are White.
MAMDANI’S FAMILY
Mira Nair, mother to Zohran, is an Indian-American film director. She studied theater and sociology for a year at Delhi University and finished three more years of film studies at Harvard College. She has accumulated many awards for her films, and established the Salaam Baalak Trust with profits. Her first husband was Mitch Epstein, her Harvard photography instructor. Her second and current husband is Mahmood Mamdani, a political scientist and professor.
Mahmood Mamdani, father to Zohran, is a Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Colombia University. His research interests include slavery, colonialism, racial capitalism, etc. Originally from Mumbai, India, Mahmood grew up in Uganda where his citizenship was revoked on account of a delivered speech where he suggested that the Ugandan famine “was as much man-made as a result of natural disaster.” He was forced to leave in 1972.
Mahmood received his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, his Masters and PhD from Harvard University, and has taught at various universities. Aside from his professorship, Mahmood is also a council member for the Gaza Tribunal which recently met in London of September last year.
Similar to his father, Zohran Mamdani has professed his pride in being a Muslim American. If he were to win the election, he would be New York City’s first Muslim mayor. Zohran has made his religion an integral part of his political image, saying that it has created the foundation for his stance against injustice and inequality.
In recent headlines, Zohran spoke about his family members who have endured anti-Muslim aggression especially following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. “I want to speak to the memory of my aunt who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in a hijab” CNN quoted Mamdani.
Recent news suggests that a large portion of clarity was left out of Zohran’s sentimental speech. Some have pointed out that Zohran’s biological aunt was living in Tanzania in 2001 and did not wear a hijab. In response, Zohran accused his critics of being Islamophobic and said that he was referring to a distant relative named Zehra fuhi. Other sources explain that this relative was his father’s cousin.
MAMDANI CAMPAIGN
In the NYC mayoral race, The Hill reported earlier today that Mamdani currently leads Cuomo by 25 points. The major pull for Mamdani’s campaign is his tenacity toward bringing in the young vote.
Tufts suspects that Mamdani’s fight to challenge the status quo “rather than represent it”, appears attractive to young people. Especially as Mamdani strategically utilizes social media for communication efforts, young voters in New York are more engaged. The same article also states that “4 in 5 young people rely on at least one social media platform for political engagement.” This is an advantage that younger political candidates have begun to grasp over those older in age.
Bloomberg reported that around 30% of early voters were under the age of 35. Al Jazeera reports that voters in their 20s and 30s appeared at the booths in larger numbers than for the 2021 mayoral primary. This data suggests that young voters, regardless of who they vote for, are making their vote more active.
An issue that has recently caught wind is the allegation that Mamdani’s campaign has received money from foreign donors. The Coolidge Reagan Foundation initially raised this alarm. The National Review reported that Mamdani had received around $13,000 from over 100 donors with addresses outside of the U.S.
This allegation has yet to be affirmed, but news sources continue to update information about these foreign funds. So far, Mamdani returned $9,000 of said donations once an investigation was formally opened.
WHAT ARE HIS POLITICS?
Throughout his campaign, Mamdani has made promises for free buses, universal childcare, a rent freeze, and a $30 minimum wage. There is a lot of ambition behind his charisma and promises. He also seeks to place higher taxes on big businesses and ‘the rich’, especially increased income taxes on the Upper West and East Side of Manhattan.
Though Mamdani has been majorly characterized as a socialist by his opponents, he has also proudly identified himself as such throughout his campaign. Readers may also note that the beginning of this article outlined Mamdani’s public membership with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). So, this is not merely a conservative dig. Mamdani is proud that his policies align more socialist than anything else. However, let’s discuss what socialism is.
Socialism is both a political and economic system that is mainly characterized by government ownership over the means of production, instead of private ownership. Not to be confused with the similar construct of communism, socialism aims to evenly spread wealth. However, this idea is not easily accepted especially in the West. Margaret Thatcher once said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
Nonetheless, a discussion on socialism and similar structures of political economy can wait for another time.
VOTING RECORD
This is a preliminary summary of Mamdani’s voting record. It is intended to give insight into areas of interest that are important to Mamdani and his political trajectory.
In January, Mamdani co-sponsored and voted to pass a bill that authorized medical aid in dying. He voted to pass bills to expand the state’s fire prevention council, expand state ag law to include cannabis, create a new fund that charges certain fossil fuel entities, repeal provisions requiring reporting of a patient’s drug use, etc.
Here are the bills Mamdani did not vote on – bills to require institutions of higher education to designate a Title VI Coordinator, prohibit rent minimums in real estate secured loan documents, extend provisions for technical corrections to school speed zones, etc.
As his mayoral campaign ramped up in July, Mamdani was mostly absent for the voting sessions on July 17th and 18th of this year.
***
Katelyn Sims is a senior at Howard Payne University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in social science with emphasis in American political studies, global studies and jurisprudence. She is also a student in the university’s Guy D. Newman Honors Academy, as well as a prominent member of the Student Speaker Bureau speech and debate team. Following graduation, Katelyn will pursue a career in the field of U.S. foreign policy.
Katelyn has worked as a news writer and marketing coordinator with Brownwood News since 2023. Her column The Truth Will Set You Free is intended for all people from all walks of life. Katelyn aspires to inform readers of major U.S. political and legislative activity with an unbiased analysis that engages with political ideologies on all sides of the aisle. She believes the public ought to exercise their free will to cultivate personalized opinions on controversial issues without the influence of mainstream media.
