Opinion | New York City Mayoral Candidates: Who Would Be Best?

Eleanor Randolph Journalist and former Times editorial board member

It appears to be like like Mamdani goes to win, however you by no means know completely what’s going to occur in an election. We’re driving on hope right here as a result of we don’t actually know who this man is, in the end, however he’s doing a number of the best issues, like speaking and listening to individuals within the enterprise neighborhood as a part of understanding how sophisticated this metropolis is.

Caitlin Kawaguchi Nonprofit strategist and community representative in Brooklyn

I hear that we don’t know definitively how he will probably be as mayor, whereas with Cuomo, we now have his background. However I feel with Cuomo, his background is just not good, proper? We’ve seen that he rewards his donors. We’ve seen that he retaliates towards of us who oppose him.

When he’s had a platform, he’s used it to his personal private gain.

Amit Singh Bagga Democratic strategist and former city official

On his core points, Mamdani has stayed remarkably constant. He’s had a laser deal with affordability and high quality of life as it’s skilled. And that’s the No. 1 challenge going through New Yorkers. Like Eleanor, I’ve been happy and inspired by what I’ve skilled as real and honest outreach to corners of New York Metropolis society and economic system that maybe have been very skeptical of him. And he has demonstrated a exceptional diploma of openness that many politicians don’t appear to have, a willingness to study.

Neil Blumenthal Co-founder and co-chief executive of Warby Parker

That is successfully a two-way alternative. On the one hand, you may have anyone who has a wealth of expertise, has been an lawyer normal, a governor, a cupboard secretary. And however, you may have anyone who hardly has work expertise. In order that’s what it comes all the way down to for me.

Joseph Borelli Republican former city councilman from Staten Island

Andrew Cuomo won’t be as conservative as I’d like him to be. I feel he gained’t be as progressive as others would really like him to be. I feel he’ll be extra average by definition. And that, to me, is a greater consequence than having somebody who will virtually all the time be seeking to speed up the progressive socialist agenda. Mamdani is operating not simply to repair the potholes. He’s operating to implement a imaginative and prescient of presidency that’s not shared on my own and never shared by a number of New Yorkers.

Mitchell L. Moss Urban policy professor at N.Y.U.

I feel Mamdani’s a compelling candidate with huge upside however far more draw back than individuals acknowledge. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. He’s ready to surrender management of the varsity system, and that could be a path to extra training failure, not better success.

Policywise, he has a skinny agenda. The hire stabilization that he proposes wouldn’t assist individuals in NYCHA [the city’s public housing agency]. It doesn’t assist individuals who hire in two-family properties. However it’s very engaging symbolically. Affordability is a superb idea, however as totally free buses, the buses aren’t really underneath his management, however underneath an M.T.A. board.

Antonio Weiss Financial executive and former U.S. Treasury official

There’s loads to unpack in what Mitchell mentioned. Because the ’70s we’ve had the Monetary Emergency Act, which requires a balanced funds. And so the funds also needs to be regarded as a set of decisions that the mayor and the Metropolis Council make concerning the allocation of sources. Mamdani has been clear concerning the priorities he would set in a approach that this present administration has not completed. And look, we’re going to be in a pitched battle subsequent yr with a federal administration that’s withholding funds.

New York State handed its funds as if none of this have been occurring. New York Metropolis handed its funds as if none of this have been occurring. And what Mamdani has proven us is he’s reaching out throughout the board. And sure, that’s a coalition to get elected. It’s additionally a coalition to control.

Frederick A. Davie Senior executive vice president at Union Theological Seminary

I need to discover a little bit little bit of an intangible. Mamdani has tapped into the best way that an entire swath of this metropolis that’s loads youthful than me understands and experiences life. And he’s capable of not solely grasp that, however give voice to a number of what they’re feeling and provide options and instructions that they’ll connect with. And I feel there’s a genius in that we shouldn’t miss or dismiss. And I feel that very same genius will be delivered to bear on governing town. It’s in all probability time for a generational shift in management on this metropolis.

Iwen Chu Former New York State senator representing South Brooklyn

Brad [Lander] was my alternative within the major, after which Brad now is just not on the ticket. What possibility do I’ve?

For me, there are 4 components. We take a look at the previous in your report. We take a look at the longer term in your imaginative and prescient. We take a look at your group, your management. We take a look at your private ethics. That’s how I ranked it.And I feel Mamdani’s method, how he dealt with police, public security, training, Israel points, enterprise is all the identical: He listens. So I feel how he builds his group is essential, to construct the belief for the voters.

Frederick A. Davie Senior executive vice president at Union Theological Seminary

So Mamdani’s underneath no phantasm that Trump’s going to make it straightforward for him. However he additionally is aware of it’s not a battle he has to struggle alone, that he has the governor, state legislative leaders and members of Congress.

Christina M. Greer Political scientist and a host of the “FAQ NYC” podcast

I don’t belief Cuomo to guard New York Metropolis. I feel that he’ll acquiesce to Donald Trump in ways in which he says he gained’t, however he’s a number of bluster.

I do agree with Mamdani within the sense that it’s going to take Hakeem [Jeffries] and Chuck [Schumer] having a spine and supporting him in a number of methods. I do suppose we will probably be penalized — as a metropolis economically, if not worse, with the Nationwide Guard and ICE brokers.Is Mamdani a super candidate, 33 years outdated, who’s by no means been citywide elected? [Mr. Mamdani turned 34 after this discussion took place.] No. Are these the playing cards that we now have and we’re going to play them? Sure. And I feel I’m optimistic with him, kind of, getting individuals energy to withstand the Trump administration and the draconian insurance policies that can come out of Washington, D.C.

Joseph Borelli Republican former city councilman from Staten Island

I feel this challenge has been framed to be one-sided. Why will we assume that Trump goes to come back after New York when, in actuality, Mamdani goes to learn politically from going after the Trump administration, and being the main far-left determine in American politics?

Jared Trujillo Law professor and former defense lawyer

I feel that Andrew Cuomo really had a very good alternative to push again on the Trump administration after they threatened to arrest somebody — Mamdani — who gained a Democratic contest for mayor. He didn’t. And I feel that’s actually indicative of who Andrew Cuomo is. To the extent he was an efficient chief, it’s as a result of he was a bully. He can not cope with Trump, somebody with extra energy than him.

Whitney Toussaint Co-president of Community Education Council 30 in Queens

On Trump, Cuomo has already offered out. He’s not likely spoken out towards the dangerous issues the Trump administration has already completed. He’s courting lots of the similar sorts of voters.

Howard Wolfson Deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration

I’ve been profoundly dissatisfied by the shortage of dialog about training throughout the marketing campaign from all of the candidates. The Occasions not too long ago printed a narrative, 140,000 homeless college students in New York. And I don’t hear the candidates actually speaking an terrible lot about easy methods to deal with what’s, in my opinion, a very systemic disaster. I feel the mayor ought to be operating the varsity system. There ought to be some extent of accountability. If dad and mom really feel like they’ve been shut out and Mamdani feels that approach, too, he can convey them in.

Neil Blumenthal Co-founder and co-chief executive of Warby Parker

I feel round one million college students having a faculty system overseen by somebody who has managed an workplace of 5 or so individuals and solely has a couple of years of expertise within the State Meeting —

I feel that could be a main abdication of accountability by us as voters to these youngsters, to place anyone accountable for them that has so little expertise. And to layer on, he’s been towards mayoral management of the colleges, which is the only most essential governance challenge for our faculties, and to make sure that we’re educating our youngsters.

Whitney Toussaint Co-president of Community Education Council 30 in Queens

On faculty management, the regulation is what the regulation is. He’ll nonetheless should appoint a chancellor and members to the panel of training coverage. The mayor nonetheless has to do this. However we do want to interact dad and mom who’re energetic.

Mamdani is listening to us on training. Cuomo is speaking at us as an alternative of together with dad and mom like me in these discussions. We’re talked at. You understand what Eric Adams referred to as us? Skilled dad and mom. Nicely, rattling it, I’m.

Caitlin Kawaguchi Nonprofit strategist and community representative in Brooklyn

On housing, it’s a central challenge to New Yorkers of all ages, particularly renters. I feel there’s an actual want for not solely a deal with constructing, which I feel is essential, but in addition deep affordability.

One factor that’s actually resonating with of us, together with myself, about Mamdani’s platform is that it seems like he’s prepared to strive new issues and to push the envelope. Freezing the hire is one thing particular to rent-stabilized tenants, which isn’t all of New York. However I feel it’s emblematic of a dedication to occupied with options in a approach that may be talked about and communicated.

Jared Trujillo Law professor and former defense lawyer

Housing is just not my first challenge. But when it have been, I feel I’d be actually enthusiastic about Zohran. It has been a giant a part of his affordability messaging. And simply how he’s prioritizing it, I can inform that he cares loads about it.

Howard Wolfson Deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration

Cuomo had the sting on this final time we met as a result of he didn’t name for defunding the police. And he didn’t name them racists, which Mamdani did and has now walked again from. This was like 5 years in the past, throughout the starting of his political profession.

Jared Trujillo Law professor and former defense lawyer

And after George Floyd died, we noticed 10 minutes of individuals really caring about racialized policing. Now we’re seeing actual retrenchment from that. I feel that’s the reason Cuomo was given a lot unearned grace. One thing that we haven’t actually talked about right here but is that Mamdani is the primary Muslim candidate who has a really actual likelihood of changing into mayor. For many of his life, he’s more likely to have been profiled due to who he’s than to be mayor, to be any elected official in any respect in any way.

And so I don’t actually like the truth that he walked these statements again. On the finish of the day, is it reflective of coverage? I really am a little bit bit nervous that it’s.

A. Mychal Johnson South Bronx social justice advocate

Mamdani has talked about how policing alone can not resolve social points occurring on the road — trauma, psychological well being, housing. If the police are the primary in, individuals in disaster find yourself in Rikers, not in care. That’s not the reply.

I’ve personally been stopped and frisked. Who else on this room has been? OK, solely individuals of coloration. Mamdani’s method right here is, how will we do issues a little bit bit in another way? Andrew Cuomo desires to extend the police power. Is that the reply? I say no. We want police. Who doesn’t say we want police? However we additionally want the neighborhood care and infrastructure that really make all of us secure. Cuomo hasn’t proven a willingness to do something in another way.

Joseph Borelli Republican former city councilman from Staten Island

I feel Sliwa could be the perfect to cope with policing, however he’s not going to win. I feel he has a extra rational view: that there are dangerous individuals who have to be prosecuted, punished and put in jail.

Iwen Chu Former New York State senator representing South Brooklyn

Public security and policing are completely totally different topics. College security, psychological well being, homeless points: They’re all public security.

However policing and the amount of the police aren’t equal to public security. Mamdani desires to carry the regulation enforcement accountable — that’s policing. How he can construct a coalition and work with the regulation enforcement and ensure our regulation enforcement is useful — that’s a separate topic.

Eleanor Randolph Journalist and former Times editorial board member

There’s one other challenge apart from public security. And that’s how the police and the mayor are going to cope with the opportunity of the president and his group sending up individuals to stroll across the streets with their weapons out and all that kind of stuff.

You possibly can hear the drumbeat and you already know he’s coming after New York. So how does that work with a police division and the best way the subsequent mayor operates?

Neil Blumenthal Co-founder and co-chief executive of Warby Parker

I feel it’s essential to have a look at the info. The information reveals that extra cops within the subway, on the streets and on corners in high-crime neighborhoods can cut back crime.

Between Cuomo and Mamdani, one is proposing increasing the police power and one candidate is just not. When Mamdani claims that he desires to defund the police after which now claims to be an advocate and a champion for N.Y.P.D., are we presupposed to imagine that he’s going to have the ability to lead and encourage the nation’s largest municipal police power to do their greatest work?

Frederick A. Davie Senior executive vice president at Union Theological Seminary

Eric Adams was in all probability probably the most pro-police mayor that we’ve had shortly. And we’re nonetheless hemorrhaging cops.

So I’m undecided that that in and of itself will get us to the place we need to be. May Andrew Cuomo have a greater relationship with the N.Y.P.D. than Zohran Mamdani would or may? The reply to that’s in all probability to start with, sure. However once more, I feel what we’re seeing with Mamdani is that what he understands is that he must mixture round him individuals who have experience in areas and locations the place he doesn’t.

Howard Wolfson Deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration

Mamdani has energized an infinite quantity of people that have been beforehand outdoors of the political course of and didn’t see themselves as central to it. And to overlook that will be an infinite mistake and, as a Democrat, fully silly.

The flip aspect of that’s that the Democratic institution — of which, for higher or worse, largely, I’m one thing of a card-carrying member — completely failed throughout this marketing campaign. It tried to raise candidates that have been deeply flawed, have been unable to solidify behind individuals who would have been capable of current an alternative choice to Mamdani.

Caitlin Kawaguchi Nonprofit strategist and community representative in Brooklyn

It’s not as if the institution may have produced a Mamdani. The Democratic Social gathering has not been partaking with of us who may very well be the subsequent nice electeds. And it’s not going to be only a one that presents in the identical approach as Mamdani. We’ve seen campaigns throughout the nation who need to emulate his marketing campaign by doing walking-style TikTok movies. However that’s not what was nice about Mamdani’s marketing campaign. It was nice as a result of it was connecting with on a regular basis New Yorkers round points that matter to them, that offered artistic options.

Christina M. Greer Political scientist and a host of the “FAQ NYC” podcast

I’ve some robust critiques of the Democratic Socialists of America nonetheless, however they’ve been utilizing their community as a method to convey individuals into the political fold in a approach that the events haven’t. I feel a number of voters really feel actually disrespected by the institution. As a result of the voters spoke on June 24 and mentioned: We don’t need you, Andrew Cuomo. Go residence.

Jared Trujillo Law professor and former defense lawyer

I’ve to suppose that a number of the refusal to assist Mamdani is Islamophobia. And I feel that there’s going to be an actual reckoning with that in some unspecified time in the future.

Iwen Chu Former New York State senator representing South Brooklyn

I misplaced my election final yr as a result of Democrats don’t know easy methods to deal with price of dwelling. When the first end result got here out, it was like: What am I going to do as a voter, as an immigrant? I checked out Mamdani’s insurance policies once more. Positive, I do need these city-run grocery shops down my block. Do I need free buses? Sure, I do. New York State really can afford statewide common free lunch, faculty lunch. It’s nearly priorities. We don’t have a shot if we don’t strive. We have to strive.

Antonio Weiss Financial executive and former U.S. Treasury official

Democrats should embrace successful and be a bit extra fearless about that. As essential or extra essential than this election is that, as soon as elected, Mamdani succeeds, and the Democrats abandon their method of disqualifying and discouraging successful candidates and as an alternative begin investing of their success.

A. Mychal Johnson South Bronx social justice advocate

Mamdani is operating like he desires to serve. It’s not like he’s operating for a job or for energy. And we too usually have candidates who’re about energy and management, not neighborhood.

Amit Singh Bagga Democratic strategist and former city official

A few of his guarantees are achievable independently on the metropolis stage; others require actual partnership with Albany. Total, these recent concepts are proxies for objectives that he desires to realize as a result of they’re the core points that folks face on daily basis.

Joseph Borelli Republican former city councilman from Staten Island

I feel town was ripe for brand spanking new concepts. The issue is, a few of these concepts aren’t actually sensible or financially possible. We will discuss free buses, however what occurs if you take, you already know, $800 million out of the fare field of the M.T.A.? How will we make up for that shortfall?

How does this have an effect on the necessity to increase tolls and congestion pricing down the street? These are all scary issues.

Whitney Toussaint Co-president of Community Education Council 30 in Queens

The common youngster care that he’s proposing. He desires households of newborns to get child baskets, one thing they do all over the world. You don’t notice how costly these items are till you must go purchasing for a child.

And I’m going to convey it again to what Mychal mentioned, as a result of I really like what you mentioned. He’s operating like somebody who desires to serve.

Mitchell L. Moss Urban policy professor at N.Y.U.

We mainly have hope versus despair. Cuomo is despair. Each has totally different strengths. However my college students are working for Mamdani. And I imply of each race and earnings.

Howard Wolfson Deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration

On Israel, I imagine his views are deeply felt.

I occur to be in very robust disagreement with him on this space. There was an actual effort post-primary to encourage him to sentence the phrase “globalize the intifada.” To his credit score, he met with and spoke with many individuals who shared their very robust issues about that. And I imagine that he was sincerely listening. In the long run, the place he landed was he was going to discourage individuals from utilizing it.That was a very very long time to brew some actually weak tea. I feel it was indicative of a really strongly held set of beliefs on his half which might be very a lot at odds with my set of beliefs and the set of beliefs of lots of my buddies and neighbors.

Mitchell L. Moss Urban policy professor at N.Y.U.

I feel that we now have to understand that he’s not altering. This can be a perception. And if you purchase the mayor, you purchase the idea.

Mitchell L. Moss Urban policy professor at N.Y.U.

We should always acknowledge the lunacy of voting for Sliwa. I’m not saying he’s not going to get votes, nevertheless it’s a wasted vote.

Jared Trujillo Law professor and former defense lawyer

I might vote for Sliwa earlier than Cuomo.

Amit Singh Bagga Democratic strategist and former city official

So would I.

Jared Trujillo Law professor and former defense lawyer

That’s saying loads. To be clear, Sliwa is just not the lovable eccentric some make him out to be — he’s not a severe candidate. His platform is riddled with proposals {that a} mayor can’t really enact, like rolling again the 2019 state tenant protections that solely Albany can contact. Different components of his agenda veer into the downright Orwellian. He’s not even a Bloomberg Republican. On coverage, he’s Trump in a crimson beret.

That mentioned, I do suppose he’s genuinely dedicated to ending the inhumane follow of horse-drawn carriages. He’s probably the most certified candidate for equine liberation, and that’s it.

Christina M. Greer Political scientist and a host of the “FAQ NYC” podcast

I feel Sliwa will do higher than anticipated. There’s going to be some people who find themselves like: This 33-year-old child and a few of these concepts are simply possibly a bridge too far for me. [Mr. Mamdani turned 34 after this discussion took place.] And Cuomo is an absolute no. And there are some individuals who won’t ever be capable to vote for a nonwhite particular person.

Mitchell L. Moss Urban policy professor at N.Y.U.

I love the best way wherein Mamdani has framed his perception that we are able to make town higher. His work in political campaigns has been terrific. The proof that he’s an awesome supervisor is the nice marketing campaign he ran. However operating for workplace and governing are reverse expertise. One is efficiency artwork. The opposite is a day-to-day job of distributing not simply pleasure and advantages, however ache, too.

Antonio Weiss Financial executive and former U.S. Treasury official

Mamdani’s appointments, if he wins, will matter loads. Who’s going to be the primary deputy mayor? Is there going to be a deputy mayor charged with determining easy methods to combine the Division of Neighborhood Security with the N.Y.P.D.? Each indication is that he’s going about not simply his marketing campaign however his transition with the intent of offering convincing solutions to all of that.

Neil Blumenthal Co-founder and co-chief executive of Warby Parker

There’s only a large distinction between operating a marketing campaign and operating one of many largest cities on this planet. Expertise issues for the second most essential job in America.

A. Mychal Johnson South Bronx social justice advocate

I’m simply listening to all these feedback about Mamdani’s relative lack of expertise, however the ones who had expertise didn’t ship for the individuals who mobilized behind Mamdani. These are individuals and communities who’ve been left behind for many years.

Christina M. Greer Political scientist and a host of the “FAQ NYC” podcast

Nicely, we’ve bought somebody who has crucial job in America who has zero expertise. Take an opportunity.