In the weeks leading up to — and following — November’s election day, I was constantly surrounded by conversations about New York City’s mayoral election, particularly in reference to Zohran Mamdani. As a native New Yorker, I obviously understood that people would be curious to hear about my opinions regarding the election and who I planned to vote for. What I did find confusing was how much non-New Yorkers seemed to care about — and felt their opinions should matter on — what was very much a local election. I know that Mamdani’s victory mattered. But we should stop extrapolating the New York City mayoral election to the rest of American politics.
It would be beyond naive for me to pretend that New York City does not hold a unique place in American consciousness — there is no other place that I can think of where you could be anywhere in the United States, say that you are from “the City” and have people know what you mean. I also understand that by identifying as a “democratic socialist,” Mamdani’s campaign operated under the skeptical eyes of Democrats around the country who remain wary of far-left rhetoric. But despite both of the above caveats, I still think that the public fascination with Mamdani’s mayoral win is representative of a fundamental misunderstanding as to the role of our new mayor.
Take, for example, one of his less-covered deeds: less than a week after his assumption of office, Mamdani filled a hole in the pavement of the bike ramp that connects the Williamsburg Bridge to Manhattan. Such an act may hardly seem journalism-worthy, but to cyclists who were frequent victims of the pothole, the construction has been a game-changer. This is exactly the role of a mayor and of local government itself: small-scale action that has a tangible effect on the day-to-day lives and safety of neighbors, not foreign policy or national party politics. Accordingly, Mamdani’s entire campaign platform was centered around the city’s intense affordability crisis. From freezing housing costs, to opening city owned grocery stores, to making city buses and childcare free, Mamdani’s campaign had a clear focus on making the cost of living in the city feasible.
Yet, this local focus didn’t stop him from attracting outside attention. During his campaign, he came under fire for his criticism of Israel and support of Palestine. In a June 2025 debate, Mamdani was asked if he would visit Israel in his capacity as mayor. This question is where I believe people have fundamentally lost perspective on what the role of a mayor is. Mayors are not heads of state and are not responsible for foreign diplomacy.
I don’t see any reason why a mayor of any United States city should visit Israel, or any country for that matter, as a representative of their city. That is the job of the federal government. Although the New York City metropolitan area has the highest population of Jewish residents outside of Israel and the Jewish constituency is a major electoral force in city elections, a mayor’s job should be to serve the local community first and foremost, regardless of their background.
Appropriately, Mamdani’s response to the abovementioned question was: “As the mayor I’ll be standing up for Jewish New Yorkers, and I’ll be meeting them wherever they are across the five boroughs, whether that’s in their synagogues and temples or at their homes or at the subway platform.” Though this answer didn’t satisfy many voters who support Israel, it is the only correct answer to a mayor being asked if they will visit a foreign country during their mayoralty.
Another factor that people cited to me was that as New York City Mayor, Mamdani could become the de facto leader of the Democratic party, and that his election was significant in illuminating its national direction. I think the first of these statements is the sillier of the two — the last New York City mayor to attain higher office post mayoral tenure was in 1869. I find it laughable to consider Bill de Blasio or Eric Adams as the future leaders of the Democratic party — de Blasio was best known for the hatred that his constituents felt for him and Adams was federally indicted while still holding office. While I think that discussing the momentum of the Democratic party is a fair point, it should be contextualized and viewed in relation to the greater blue wave trend of the 2025 election, not just limited to New York City.
Mamdani’s win was historic, but it was also a buzzword-filled campaign due to his democratic-socialist identity, giving an opening for non-New Yorkers to interlope in discussions. Local politics are not national politics. Municipal politicians have just as much value as federal politicians — if not more — but the roles they play are different. With a rise in distrust in government and a lack of faith in politicians, it is important to remember the tangible effect that government can have on the lives of those they serve, and to not deal in abstracts. In this context, local governments have the greatest ability to change the lives of their residents, one pothole at a time.
Opinion articles represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
