A Socialist New York City? |
Photograph Source: Eden, Janine and Jim – CC BY 2.0
What if Zohran Mamdani, the Social Democratic candidate, wins the November 4th general election and becomes New York’s next mayor?
Pres. Donald Trump has threatened to intervene in the mayoral race in opposition to Mamdani and will likely continue to call him a “Communist Lunatic.” He’s warned, “… we have tremendous power at the White House to run places where we have to. We’re going to straighten out New York. It’s going to — maybe we’re going to have to straighten it out from Washington.” So, the Big Apple may well suffer from possible federal cutbacks and, worst case, deployment of National Guard troops like Trump did in Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
Others, however, are taking a more measured approach to this likely possibility.
Mamdani recently held two get-acquainted meetings with city corporate executives. Much of the media focused on his alleged use of the phrase “globalize the intifada” and his commitment to discourage the use of the phrase.
More revealing, he met with about 150 executives associate the Partnership for New York City, a group that represents the city’s largest companies. Kathy Wylde, head of the Partnership, reported: “None of them have ever met him.” “This was really an introductory meeting for them to see something beyond the caricature of him that they’ve seen from social media reports and negative advertising,” she added. The next day, he held a follow-up get together with more than 200 tech executives, startup founders and venture capitalists under the auspices of both the Partnership and the trade group Tech:NYC.
Adding to Mamdani’s momentum, a growing number of unions are coming out in support of his candidacy, including:
Bangladeshi American Police Association.
DC37, the city’s largest municipal labor union.
........