Lucas: Hate won’t work in the New York mayor’s office
In a surprising political shift, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Muslim Socialist, has been elected as the new mayor of New York City, a metropolis of over eight million residents. His victory marks a significant moment in the city’s political landscape, especially as he prepares to oversee a workforce that has just shrunk from 306,248 to 306,247 employees. Mamdani, who has served three terms in the New York Assembly, is stepping into a role that requires substantial managerial experience, a quality he lacks, having never held a leadership position or a traditional job. In stark contrast, Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu, who has spent four years in office and has a solid track record in city governance, leads a workforce of approximately 25,530 in a city with a population of around 672,318. This juxtaposition raises questions about Mamdani’s readiness to govern effectively in a city that serves as the financial capital of the United States.
Mamdani’s political stance has raised eyebrows, particularly his outspoken criticism of the New York Police Department, which he has labeled as “racist” and intends to defund. His controversial remarks, including a statement linking the NYPD’s actions to the Israeli Defense Forces, have already sparked resignations within the city’s leadership, starting with Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker. There are concerns that other key figures, such as Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, may follow suit, especially amid an anticipated exodus of thousands of police officers from the department. This potential reduction could bring the force to its lowest numbers in decades, raising alarms about public safety and law enforcement capabilities in a city that has historically faced challenges related to crime and police-community relations.
The election of Mamdani, who has a complicated relationship with New York’s Jewish community, contrasts sharply with Wu’s more inclusive approach as a Roman Catholic with no known conflicts with the Jewish population. Both leaders share a progressive agenda and a disdain for former President Donald Trump, but their paths diverge significantly in experience and community relations. As Mamdani prepares to take office in January, the implications of his leadership style and policies will be closely watched, not only by New Yorkers but also by political observers nationwide. The challenges ahead are formidable, and Mamdani’s ability to navigate them will be crucial for the future of New York City.
No sooner was Muslim Socialist Zohran Mamdani elected mayor of New York than the city payroll dropped from 306,248 employees to 306,247.
That is the number of city workers Mamdani, 34, who has never run anything or had a real job, will oversee when he is sworn into office in January to run a city of eight million people.
Boston by contrast, a city of 672,318 people, has a city work force of some 25,530 employees and a mayor, Michelle Wu, 40, who already has four years as mayor under her belt.
Mamdani is new. He is just a three-term member of the New York Assembly where he did have a staff of a half dozen people and an absentee record of fifty percent.
Now the Democrat Socialist will be mayor of free-market New York City, headquarters and financial capital of the United States with a population that includes one million Jews.
He is also pro-Hamas, anti-Israel and a sharp critic of the “racist” New Your Police Department—which he wants to defund— and is unlike Wu who has a strong working relationship with the Boston cops.
“We have to make clear,” Mamdani said in a recently resurfaced video from 2023, “that when the boot of the NYPD has its boot on your neck it has been laced by the IDF”—the Israeli Defense Force.
So, good luck with that.
The first city employee to flee the new administration was New York Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker, who is Jewish. He handed in his resignation the day after Mamdani’s victory.
Next in line could be respected and effective, tough on crime New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is also Jewish.
That resignation could come when Mamdani, who has yet to condemn the Intifada—which calls for violence against the Jews– orders Tisch to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu, as he promised, should Netanyahu come to New York.
Or it could come in January when some three to four thousand New York cops are scheduled to leave the department, reducing the number of cops to around 30,000, the lowest number in decades.
That is more cops leaving than the makeup of the entire Boston Police Department.
While it is natural to compare Mamdani with Wu in that they are both young, politically successful, anti- Trump progressives, there are differences as well.
While Boston is not New York, Wu knows how to run a major city and has done so for four years. Before that Wu was a veteran member of the Boston City Council. Mamdani has not run anything.
Another is that Wu is a Christian who was born in Chicago after her parents migrated to the U.S. from Taiwan. She has no hang-up with Jews or with anyone else.
Mamdani, a naturalized citizen, was born in Uganda to Muslim parents of Indian descent who migrated to the U.S. when he was seven years old. His relationship with the Jewish community in New York has been of major concern.
While Wu is Roman Catholic, she does not wear her religion on her sleeve, except when she testifies before Congress. Muslim Mamdani does.
What the two have in common, though, is their hatred of Donald Trump as witnessed by their Trump taunting election night victory speeches on Tuesday.
Both acted as though they had just defeated Trump. Wu did not even have an opponent.
Wu, objecting to ICE’s raids rounding up criminal illegal immigrants, called Trump “a criminal who acts like a king.”
But a funny thing happened. While Wu was slamming Trump, ICE agents swooped down on a car wash in Allston and scooped up eight individuals suspected, among other things, of being in the country illegally.
The “king” struck again.
Standing up to Trump is going to take a lot more than words.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com.
Mayor Michelle Wu (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald, File)
