Zohran Mamdani won a clear victory in the mayoral race Tuesday, but by far less than Democrats usually do; while the numbers aren’t final, at the very least nearly as many New Yorkers voted against him as for him.
That’s no sign of faith in the socialist fantasies he’s selling. He certainly has no mandate to ram through a radical agenda.
New Yorkers seem to know his extremist socialist, pro-crime rhetoric and policies will devastate the city, setting off a historic race for the exits — and a serious, irreversible decline for the city.
More than a third, about 2.8 million residents, said they’d consider bolting if Mamdani won, including 765,000 who said they “definitely” would, reports the Daily Mail, citing a J.L. Partners survey.
Which is why Mamdani’s fellow Democrats — above all, Gov. Kathy Hochul — have a duty to step up, rein him in and head off disaster.
And the fact that so many New Yorkers would support them is all the more reason to do so.
Remember, Democrats wield all the power in Albany — and the city, as a legal matter, needs the state’s permission for most of what Mamdani aims to do (even if the City Council backs him up).
On other fronts, the state can outright overrule the city pretty much any time it wants.
Take Mamdani’s scheme to hike taxes on the rich and corporations: That’s entirely up to Albany.
The only broad-based taxes the city controls are property taxes.
And the income-tax hikes he wants would fuel the exodus, particularly among those being taxed: the rich and the corporations — slamming the state’s tax base even more than the city’s.
Which is why Hochul has vowed to block any new taxes, as she runs for reelection on an “affordability” platform.
Alas, she’s eager to please Mamdani, hoping for his support in next year’s Democratic primary.
In exchange for the socialist’s endorsement, she might cave to at least some of his “tax the rich” demands.
On schools, crime, housing, public transit and more, Mamdani’s agenda is sure to make life more miserable for New Yorkers — if the state backs him.
Hochul and lawmakers can force him to remain responsible for the schools, instead of a de facto transfer of power to the teachers union, which would run them for its own benefit, not the kids’.
They can override his defund-the-police plans and even protect the housing stock by blocking short-sighted rent freezes.
Similarly, the decision to make city buses free, which would dramatically degrade both bus and subway service, is basically up to the gov alone.
True, many voters fell for Mamdani’s fantasy promises; but many others voted for him simply as better than the not-very-credible alternatives.
Hochul & Co. have a duty to save New York from his deceptive, destructive agenda.
They can do so knowing most voters will be behind them.
