Imet Zohran Mamdani in 2020 over Instagram live during his campaign for State Assembly. I asked for a funny story or fun fact that no one knew about him, and he shared an endearing anecdote about dressing up at age 9 as a tube of toothpaste for Halloween. A few months after that first interview, I met Mamdani again. He had won his State Assembly seat, and we were both slated to speak at a protest against the ethnic-cleansing campaign in Sheik Jarrah, Jerusalem. I saw him at protest after protest, on picket line after picket line, rain or shine, with a giant smile on his face and deep conviction that our city can change for the better.
In early November 2023, I received a call from Mamdani: “We need to do more for Gaza. We need to organize a hunger strike for ceasefire, to pressure Biden to stop arming this genocide.” Mamdani had already organized a successful hunger strike for taxi workers to get debt relief year prior. And he did it again in front of the White House to push for a permanent ceasefire. To him, these actions should be the responsibility of any politician who claims to support working people.
There’s a reason he resonates with so many New Yorkers, and it’s not just because he’s relatable—he grew up here, almost failed Mandarin class, and got sent to detention one too many times in high school—it’s because he’s straightforward, funny, and sincere. He is the antithesis of politics for show. He has proven to be what many voters now think is impossible: an elected official for the people.
The New York City Democratic primary vote is on June 24, and Mamdani is one of nine candidates currently running for mayor. It’s a long road to victory, and he’s up against corporate money and well-established city politicians like the current mayor, Eric Adams, and the former NYC comptroller Scott Stringer.
Mamdani is a socialist, a 33-year-old Muslim born in Uganda and raised in New York. Could he really be New York City’s next mayor? And what would he do in office?
—Sumaya Awad
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