7/10/2025–|Last update: 13:35 (Mecca time)
American writer Ross Barkan asked about what would happen in New York if the Muslim candidate Zahran Mamdani, 33, is a mayor of that big city in November, which is possible in the eyes of the writer and would open new horizons for the rule of the Progressive Movement in the Democratic Party and represent a difficult test for the American left.
Barkan expects – in an article in the New York Times – that Mamdani will undoubtedly be the strongest leftist politician in America if he won the position of New York mayor, as he will be responsible for the largest police force in America, for the largest educational system in the country, and for a municipal budget of more than $ 110 billion.
He will also be the first official in the largest American city in terms of population, and it is very diverse ethnic, religious, ethnic, social and political, which was confused by many who assumed the position of mayor in a city that witnessed less than a year ago a remarkable shift towards voting for Republican President Donald Trump.
After acknowledging that Mamdani was the director of his election campaign in 2018 when he nominated the New York Senate, the writer Barkan is awaiting the challenges awaiting this man in order to implement the promises of his election campaign, which was very popular.
The writer expects that Mamdamin can freeze the rents of apartments designated for rent, because the mayor is the one who appoints the members of the council who makes this decision. He can also fund the five grocery stores run by the city, as he promised in the proposal of his campaign, through the municipality budget, and perhaps in partnership with existing store chains and support them to reduce commodity prices there.
Challenges
On the other hand, Barkan believes that some electoral promises will not be applied immediately, as Mamdani will have to negotiate with the Governmental Urban Transport Authority regarding his proposal to make buses free, even if the total cost of this decision is not expensive.
As for the electoral promise that is difficult to achieve in the short term, according to the writer’s opinion, it is free of charge for children between the ages of 5 weeks and 6 years, because this will cost an estimated 5 to 8 billion dollars annually, while the increase in the tax of companies that Mamdani hopes will pay the price of the program, the state must agree to it.
Mamdani will also find on his way to the legislative council for the state of New York, which has great influence in the conduct of city affairs, and then Mamdani cannot raise the tax rate or minimum wage without the approval of the state.
He also cannot build large numbers of housing units at reasonable prices without the assistance of the state, the federal government, or the regulations to divide areas that allow a large amount of construction at the market price. This means in practice that Mamdani will not be able to solve the homeless crisis.
In this case, Barkan expects that Mamdani will have to make huge concessions to the interest groups that constantly demand their share of the cake, the trade union workers who want to increase in salaries, and to the non -profit organizations that look forward to more funds, this is in addition to a strong elite of real estate developers and financiers who do not always have friendliness.
Mamdani is seasoned politically and has a wide mass base, and it has fungal charisma that helps him maintain the cohesion of his progress in the elections, which qualifies him to become the youngest mayor in a century for this giant and multi -faceted city.
The writer commented on this situation by saying that if Mamdani won the autumn elections, he would be the first mayor of New York in the modern era to face such a public opposition established by the wealthy, some of whom are planning publicly to crush it in the upcoming elections.
Kindly, the writer believes that Mamdani cannot cancel capitalism, and therefore he must work to redistribute wealth among the city’s residents and make life a little easier, without touching the city’s richness and their interests and work, and he will also need to win the support of the police administration.
The writer concluded that Mamdani is seasoned politically and has a wide fan base, and has fungal charisma that helps him to maintain the cohesion of his progress in the elections, which qualifies him to become the youngest mayor in a century for this giant and multi -faceted city.