New York City Primary Is Tomorrow
The Democratic Party primary for the nomination for mayor of New York City is tomorrow.
Many people are
lamenting
that the field of candidates is weak and the ranked-choice voting will be about finding the five least-bad candidates.
The second- and third-choice of losing candidates could end up deciding who wins.
The Democrats nominated moderate suburban women to run for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, but no Mikie Sherrill
or Abigail Spanberger is on the ballot tomorrow.
The weather could also play a role, since it is expected to be very hot tomorrow. And, as usual, turnout is always a
big issue in June elections, with Andrew Cuomo's union supporters facing off against Zohran Mamdani's volunteers. It's a
complicated, unpredictable race.
First, who are the main candidates? Here is the
list:
- Andrew Cuomo (67): The former governor of New York State who resigned in disgrace after
more than a dozen women credibly accused him of sexual harassment is trying for a comeback. On the plus side, he can
claim (sometimes deservedly, sometimes not) many accomplishments as governor, from laws legalizing same-sex marriage and
marijuana, to building the Second Avenue subway and rebuilding LaGuardia Airport. His pitch is that he is a mean S.O.B.
and will stand up to Donald Trump like no one else. In fact, he wants Trump's job. He is also calling Mamdani an
antisemite for his repeated attacks on the Israeli government. Many people in the City hate Cuomo for various reasons,
but he is nominally the favorite. His final pitch is that like him or hate him, he is the only candidate actually capable of
running a city as big, complicated, and fractious as NYC. After all, he once ran the entire state.
- Zohran Mamdani (33): A 33-year-old left-wing state assemblyman and Palestinian activist
with no executive experience wants to run the most fractious and complicated city on earth and manage a $112 billion
budget. He wants to raise taxes on the rich and build affordable housing. On Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas
attack on Israel, Mamdani
blamed
the Israeli government for it and said nothing about Hamas. Most Jewish groups in the city strongly oppose Mamdani. His
final pitch is that Cuomo is an a**hole.
- Brad Lander (55): A competent, friendly, but not exciting progressive technocrat who is
the city comptroller and wants a promotion. His daughter calls him "Dad Lander." It fits. He calls himself a pragmatic
progressive. He wants to end homelessness for people with mental illness. At least he is good with nine-digit numbers.
- Adrienne Adams (64): She is a Black woman and speaker of the city council. She would be
the first female mayor, but not the first Black one. She has emphasized her experience, knowledge of the budget, and
ability to work with the council she now leads.
- Scott Stringer (65): He was formerly city comptroller, so he also understands the budget
well. He ran for mayor in 2021 but his campaign was derailed by allegations of sexual misconduct.
- Michael Blake (42): As a former state assemblyman from the Bronx with no real base, he
is not going to win, but his voters' second choices could matter. His focus is on affordability. He is Black.
- Zellnor Myrie (38): Another pointless candidate here. He is a state senator from
Brooklyn with no real executive experience. He is also Black. He has proposed creating a million homes.
- Whitney Tilson (58): A former hedge fund executive. On the face of it, he is a terrible
fit for the city, but Michael Bloomberg was also a rich, older white guy and was an effective and popular mayor.
Tilson's thing is building more charter schools, probably not concern #1 for most people.
As if ranked-choice voting weren't complicated enough, New York law makes it possible for Cuomo or Mamdani to get on
the November ballot as the candidate of some third parties or even as independents, as Mayor Eric Adams is doing.
According to recent polling, it's between Cuomo, the mean a**hole, and Mamdani, the Palestinian activist who has no
executive experience. It reminds some Democrats of the situation last July where the nominee was going to be either a
kindly old man well beyond his best-by date or a Black woman few people knew much about. Is this the best the Democratic
Party can do? Part of the problem is that the top elected officials in New York State, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), Sen.
Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), all despise Cuomo and probably are secretly praying that it
isn't Mamdani, but didn't rally around an alternative (with Lander, the friendly, competent technocrat the obvious
choice). Organized labor is partly for Cuomo (because he created a lot of jobs with all his infrastructure projects as
governor) but partly also on the sidelines. The New York Times editorial page imitated a TACO. Some people are
wishing that New York AG Letitia James had run, but she decided to stay in state politics and will undoubtedly run for
governor eventually.
The dynamic of a youthful insurgent powered by young voters against a grizzled veteran, possibly with some baggage,
is likely to play out many times within the Democratic Party in the years ahead. However, there is a difference between
executive positions and legislative positions. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is great at giving speeches and
wowing crowds, but as a member of Congress she knows which way to vote and the rest is icing on the cake. For mayor or
governor, you actually have to make difficult decisions every day, especially about where to spend scarce funds. How
much to spend on education and how much on housing is definitely not a no-brainer. In the best of all possible worlds,
the Democrats will pick grizzled veterans for executive positions and inspirational young people for legislative ones.
In the worst of all possible worlds, it will be the reverse. (V)
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