Lucas: Hate won’t work in the New York mayor’s office
In a surprising turn of events, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Muslim Socialist, has been elected as the new mayor of New York City, marking a significant shift in the city’s political landscape. With his election, the city’s payroll has officially decreased by one, leaving 306,247 employees to be overseen by Mamdani when he takes office in January. This is particularly notable given that New York City, with a population of approximately eight million, has a workforce vastly larger than that of Boston, which has a population of around 672,318 and employs about 25,530 city workers. Mamdani, a three-term member of the New York Assembly, has limited experience in leadership roles, having previously managed a small staff and maintaining a notably high absentee record. In stark contrast, Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu, who has spent four years in office and has a solid background in city governance, is seen as more experienced in managing urban challenges.
Mamdani’s election has raised eyebrows, particularly due to his controversial positions, including being pro-Hamas and critical of the New York Police Department, which he aims to defund. His statements, including a recent resurfaced video where he equates the NYPD’s actions to those of the Israeli Defense Forces, have sparked concern among various community leaders, especially within the Jewish community, which comprises about one million residents in New York City. The immediate fallout from his election was evident when New York Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker, who is Jewish, resigned the day after Mamdani’s victory. Speculation is rife that other key figures, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, may follow suit, especially as the city braces for a potential exodus of police officers in the coming months, which could see the force reduced to its lowest numbers in decades.
While both Mamdani and Wu represent a younger, progressive wave in politics and share a mutual disdain for former President Donald Trump, their approaches and backgrounds differ significantly. Wu, a Roman Catholic of Taiwanese descent, has built a reputation for her collaborative relationship with law enforcement and the broader community. In contrast, Mamdani, a naturalized citizen born in Uganda to Muslim parents, has yet to establish a similar rapport, particularly with the Jewish community in New York. As both mayors navigate the complexities of their respective cities, the challenges ahead for Mamdani will be substantial, particularly in fostering unity and addressing the concerns of a diverse population amidst a backdrop of rising tensions and political polarization. The coming months will be crucial for Mamdani as he seeks to implement his vision for New York City while managing the expectations and apprehensions of its residents.
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)
