Editorial | How Mayor-elect Mamdani’s success can be New York’s, too

Now comes the hard part: Unity.

Zohran Mamdani rode a wave of economic turmoil, establishment dissatisfaction and many campaign promises to victory in the 2025 NYC Mayor’s Race. On Jan. 1, he will become the 111th mayor of the city of New York.

The more than 2 million people who showed up at the polls in this election reflected the energy that Mamdani injected into New York City politics, which had been relatively stagnant for nearly 20 years. Nevertheless, while he claims a mandate after winning slightly more than 50% of the vote, it’s important to remember that nearly half of voters — close to 900,000 of them — wanted someone else.

How does Mayor-elect Mamdani bring those voters together behind him and his vision for a better, more affordable New York? That’s just one of the many chal