Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race, gathered with supporters in Brooklyn at a town hall event alongside Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Our rally is a major stop on Sanders’ Fighting Oligarchy tour. It underscores the very forward-thinking values Mamdani champions and his strong commitment to mobilizing voter support for the all-important November elections.
Born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent, Mamdani immigrated to the US as a child. Now, he’s riding that celebrity support and amazing outpouring of support from famous and not-so-famous lawmakers to an impressive lead. His campaign has galvanized progressives all over New York City. They see him as the light of hope shining through a political system polluted by big money and corporations.
At the town hall meeting that evening, Mamdani gave an impassioned address. In his speech, he underlined his promises to freeze rent prices, increase the number of housing units and increase taxes on the richest 1% of New Yorkers. He emphasized that these policies, though preliminary, are key first steps toward building a more equitable city.
Our campaign is not merely about winning an election—it’s about building a movement. Mamdani announced their intention to double and triple the unprecedented 52,000 volunteer army from the primaries. This fall, they plan to get as far as an astounding 90,000 supporters. He stressed the importance of a strong grassroots campaign with the ability to get voters to the polls and increase voter engagement.
Mamdani confronted some of the recent controversies at the City University of New York (CUNY). When four professors were dismissed for advocating for anti-imperial Palestine solidarity, he denounced their firing. He mentioned that it’s urgent, now more than ever, to defend academic freedom and protect those who speak out for peace.
“New York City is not for sale to Donald Trump’s billionaires … not for sale to corporations, it is not for sale to corrupt politicians,” – Zohran Mamdani
At the town hall, Mamdani railed against what he described as “capitalistic greed.” He promised to defend immigrant communities who have endured increased attacks under the last administration. His intent is to boost the state’s funding by tens of millions of dollars. This would finally allow immigrant New Yorkers to live safely and without fear.
“To increase funding by tens of millions of dollars, to scale up this program such that we do everything in our power to ensure that immigrant New Yorkers are not living in fear,” – Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani encouraged voters to be ready to fight any battles that may come, specifically in the name of defending immigrant rights. The first of those is we all need to get ready for the inevitability of that deployment. We can’t make the mistake of thinking just because something is illegal, Donald Trump’s not going to do it,” he cautioned.
Throughout the conference, Sanders’ words were a fiery retort to Mamdani’s disappointment. He drove home the spirit of grassroots movements waging war against the rising tide of money in politics. He went on to claim that the political establishment is afraid of Mamdani’s candidacy because it means a move in the opposite direction—toward a more equitable society.
“What you are seeing now is an oligarchy with enormous economic power and political power in both political parties …[and] they are afraid of Mr. Mamdani becoming an example of what can happen all over the country … They are scared to death,” – Bernie Sanders
Sanders made clear his disgust with other leading Democrats for not supporting Mamdani’s campaign. He contended that any other candidate able to create this level of enthusiasm and army of support would’ve been hailed as a great success and risen through the party.
“I find it hard to understand how the major Democratic leaders of New York state are not supporting the Democratic candidate,” – Bernie Sanders
The political atmosphere in New York City is electric as Mamdani keeps gaining steam on the way to November. His campaign has morphed into an important real-world test case for democracy’s resilience in the face of entrenched special interests.
“What we are here tonight to say is, to hell with you. We are going to take you on!” – Bernie Sanders