Historians may someday trace the decline of America’s great cities in part to the mayors who were elected to run them.

The most populous U.S. cities are New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Each has a mayor with no real private-sector job experience. Zohran Mamdani was a “community organizer” before being elected to the New York legislature at age 29. Brandon Johnson of Chicago was a paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union before his election in 2023. Karen Bass briefly worked as a physician’s assistant before becoming a community organizer and launching a political career that vaulted her into the ...

© National Review