INTERVIEW: Can Zohran Mamdani deliver on his election promises?
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Show notes
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani led a new generation of Democrat victories this week with his victory over the old guard and Andrew Cuomo. Mr Mamdani, the first Muslim to be elected mayor of the biggest U.S. city, defeated former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing the nomination to Mamdani earlier this year. Mr Cuomo, who resigned as governor four years ago after sexual harassment allegations that he has denied, painted Mr Mamdani as a radical leftist whose proposals were unworkable and dangerous. Mr Mamdani himself has proposed raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy to pay for ambitious policies such as rent freezes, free childcare and free city buses. But like other winning candidates from the off-year elections, Mr Mamdani focused intensely on economic issues, particularly the cost of living, an issue that helped propel U.S. President, Donald Trump, to the White House last year but has remained top-of-mind for voters. In this episode of weeke nd omne-on-one, we hear from Eric Gander, who's the chair of the Department of Communications at New York's Baruch College.
