Zohran Kwame Mamdani (born October 18, 1991) [1] is a Ugandan-born American politician. He is the assembly representative for the 36th district of the New York State Assembly, in Queens. Mamdani was elected after defeating incumbent Democrat Aravella Simotas in the 2020 primary.[2] Mamdani is a declared candidate for the November 2025 New York City mayoral election.[3]
Zohran Mamdani | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Aravella Simotas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 18, 1991 Kampala, Uganda |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Parents |
|
| Education | Bowdoin College (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Mayor campaign website Assembly campaign website State Assembly website |
Early life and education
editMamdani is the son of award-winning Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, a longtime Columbia University professor, the director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), and Chancellor of Kampala International University.[4] Born in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York City when he was seven.[5] He is a Muslim.[6] Mamdani graduated from Bowdoin College in 2014.[7]
Career
editMamdani worked as a prevention counselor and cricketer, before running for office.[7]
After leading student organizing campaigns, Mamdani became formally involved in politics when he volunteered for the unsuccessful campaign of New York City Council primary candidate Khader El-Yateem, a Palestinian Lutheran Democratic Socialist minister running in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in 2017, then he was the campaign manager for Ross Barkan's race for New York State Senate in 2018, and a field organizer for Democratic Socialist Tiffany Cabán's campaign for Queens District Attorney in 2019, before running for Assembly himself.[8][9]
On January 29, 2021, Mamdani hosted a video for the progressive left wing Gravel Institute discussing the housing crisis in the United States.[10]
New York Assembly
editIn 2019, Mamdani announced his campaign for New York State Assembly in the 36th district, which encompasses Astoria and Long Island City in Queens.[11] During the campaign, Mamdani was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America[12] and ran on statewide rent control, fare-free transit, and single-payer healthcare in New York.[13] Mamdani's narrow victory over four-term incumbent Aravella Simotas took almost a month to call.[2]
2025 mayoral race
editOn October 23, 2024, Mamdani announced that he would be entering the upcoming race for New York city mayor [14] following Eric Adams' federal prosecution and several investigations into his administration. Mamdani is running on freezing rent and building housing for working families, fast and fare-free buses for riders, and free childcare for all New Yorkers.[15]
Political views
editMamdani started to consider himself a democratic socialist following the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders.[8]
Policy positions
editTransportation policy
editIn 2023, Mamdani co-introduced a bill that would enact a weight-based vehicle-registration fee to dissuade people from owning heavier vehicles in an effort to make streets safer.[16] In December 2022, Mamdani introduced a series of bills for the 2023 session called "Fix the MTA". Mamdani proposed free bus travel over the next four years across Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and then Manhattan and Staten Island.[17] The Formula Three Act would fill the $2.5 billion dollar shortfall of the MTA with another plank freezing fares at $2.75. Another plank would have set aside further money for more frequency such as, six minute headways for trains and for the hundred most used bus-routes, then using any additional money towards increasing service by 20%.[18] His advocacy helped spearhead the fare-free MTA bus pilot program.[19][20] However, in April 2024, the MTA budget didn't set aside further money for a continuation of the pilot program which Zohran decried it and accused the MTA of never supporting the pilot program saying "the MTA was opposed to this program. And they were opposed to this program because they were saying that now is not the time to create any kind of confusion around fare collection”. The new budget did set aside money to improve frequency and reliability[21][22]
Education policy
editIn the same year, Mamdani introduced a bill to eliminate New York University's and Columbia University's tax exempt status and direct those funds towards underfunded public universities.[23]
Israel policy
editEarly in 2023, Mamdani introduced a bill called the "Not on our dime!: Ending New York Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act" which aimed to prohibit registered charities from donating to organizations that support Israeli settlers.[24] In November 2023, Zohran joined Cynthia Nixon in a five day hunger strike outside of Washington DC in support of an immediate ceasefire and opposition to Biden's involvement in support of Israel's offensive in Gaza.[25][26][27] He continued local activism in 2024, holding an iftar for a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan.[28]
Congestion pricing
editZohran Mamdani has been a vocal supporter of Congestion pricing alongside Michael Gianaris[29] and was quick to condemn Governor Kathy Hochul for pausing her plan for congestion pricing.[30]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani - Biography | LegiStorm".
- ^ a b Kaufman, Maya (2020-07-22). "Zohran Mamdani Unseats Aravella Simotas In Astoria Assembly Race". Astoria-Long Island City, NY Patch. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ Emma G. Fitzsimmons (October 22, 2024). "Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, Will Run Against Mayor Adams". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "My son is not a firang, we are desi: Mira Nair". Hindustan Times. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "About Zohran Kwame Mamdani". Zohran For Assembly. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "US elections 2020: Muslim American candidates who made history". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
- ^ a b Tarleton, John (2020-06-19). "Home Foreclosure Specialist Aims to Take Fight For Housing & Racial Justice from Astoria to Albany". The Indypendent. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ a b Mamdani, Zohran; Thier, Hadas (February 9, 2021). ""We Have an Obligation to Ensure That Justice Is Not Defined by the Borders of Our District"". Jacobin. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "Zohran Mamdani | New York City Campaign Finance Board".
- ^ How Socialists Solved A Housing Crisis. The Gravel Institute. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "NYC Primary Election 2020: Zohran Mamdani Vies For Simotas' Seat". Astoria-Long Island City, NY Patch. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ i_beebe (2020-06-24). "Another big night for the DSA". CSNY. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "Issues". Zohran For Assembly. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ https://x.com/ZohranKMamdani/status/1849027572006281727
- ^ "Zohran for NYC". www.zohranfornyc.com. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ Walker, Alissa (June 23, 2023). "You May Soon Have to Pay More to Drive That SUV in New York". Curbed. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ "Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani pitches plan to 'Fix the MTA'". ny1.com. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
- ^ Lucas, Peter (31 December 2022). "New York City's Public Transit Is Broken. It Doesn't Have to Be". Jacobin. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ Shkurhan, Iryna (2024-01-30). "Astoria lawyer announces run for state assembly, sparking rebuke from incumbent Mamdani on Israel stance". Astoria Post. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ Brachfeld, Ben (2024-04-21). "MTA's free bus experiment will end after not being reauthorized in state budget | amNewYork". www.amny.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ "Queens assemblyman defends free bus program amid funding loss". ny1.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ "Wins for MTA, mixed bag for riders in state budget". ny1.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ Wexler, Sara (December 23, 2023). "Socialist Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani Wants to End Columbia and NYU's Tax-Exempt Status". Jacobin. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ McGreal, Chris (2023-05-17). "New York law aims to stop funding of illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
- ^ Harb, Ali. "US rights advocates launch hunger strike for Israel-Hamas ceasefire". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ "They Went on a Hunger Strike for a Gaza Ceasefire. What's Next?". Teen Vogue. 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ "Unions and Elected Officials Are Joining the Movement for Palestinian Freedom". jacobin.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ "In Astoria, Queens, an Iftar in Solidarity With Palestine". jacobin.com. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
- ^ Martinez, Jose (2024-02-08). "Boosts to Bus Service Must Come With Congestion Pricing, State Pols Say". THE CITY - NYC News. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ Shkurhan, Iryna (2024-06-07). "'Why people don't trust politicians,' Queens pols react to Hochul's congestion pricing snafu – QNS". qns.com. Retrieved 2024-06-08.