How does a 33-year-old Muslim man, born in Kampala, Uganda, who immigrated to the US at age seven with his parents, win the Democratic party’s primary vote, to possibly become mayor of New York City?
The winner of the mayoral primary, a humble straight shooter, does not own a car, takes the subway to work each day, or often rides a bicycle. With an annual budget of $115.9 billion in 2026, the roughly 8.4 million residents of New York City are spread over five boroughs.
Virtually unknown, Zohran Mamdani beat former New York State governor Andrew Cuomo, sending him to the General Election as the Democratic party’s candidate for New York City mayor which will be held in November. His victory sent shock waves through our social media linked global village.
Mandani’s feat is the equivalent of a ‘walk on water’ organisational miracle. Normally, one would not pay attention to the Democratic party’s primary vote – but Mamdani pulled it off. How he did it has some pointers for astute entrepreneurs and managers.
What does Mandani’s victory tell us about the power of focus on problems, being innovative, and the value of injecting organisational DNA, new thinking in a tired old system?
From unknown to global village thinker
“Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and member of the state assembly, was virtually unknown when he launched his candidacy centered on a bold slate of populist ideas. But he built an energetic campaign that ran circles around Cuomo as the older, more moderate Democrat tried to come back from the sexual harassment scandal that led to his resignation four years ago,” reports Associated Press.
The results, even before they were finalised, sent a shock wave through the political world.
“Mamdani’s campaign, which was focused on lowering the cost of living, claims it has found a new blueprint for Democrats who have at times appeared rudderless during Donald Trump’s climb back to power.”
If elected in November, Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim mayor and its first of Indian American decent – and also one of its youngest. Intelligent, cool and collected, even when nasty barbs are thrown at him, he is unusually calm in responding.
It helps that he empathises with his constituents, having experienced their trials and tribulations firsthand. As a former rapper, he and his team of 50,000 volunteers went door- to-door, used social media effectively to make the case that change for the better is possible, even up against astounding odds, where his initial base of support was 1 percent.
Focus on the problems and connect
Mamdani’s triumph is due to “connecting with younger voters, producing sleek, engaging campaign ads on social media and beating the drum about the need to make life in New York more affordable.
This narrow focus on a single, salient issue drove Mr Mamdani’s campaign, which his main rival, former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, described as ‘highly impactful’ as he conceded the race on Tuesday night,” writes The New York Times.
In his victory speech, Mr Mamdani hammered home his message one last time, attributing his success to New Yorkers who had voted for “a city where they can do more than just struggle.”
Affordability was Mamdani’s banner issue
“Every politician says New York is the greatest city on the globe,” Mr Mamdani said in his first campaign ad, released eight months ago. “But what good is that if no one can afford to live here?”
Focused on the cost-of-living crisis plaguing the city, his platform was simple: “New York is too expensive. Zohran will lower costs and make life easier. One of his ideas to tackle rising costs was to create a city-owned grocery store in each borough. The stores would operate on city-owned land or in city buildings, buy food wholesale and be exempt from property taxes, which would keep the cost of their offerings down,” reports The New York Times.
To fund his affordability initiatives, Mr Mamdani plans to raise the corporate tax rate to 11.5 percent, which he says will create an additional $5 billion in revenue. He also plans to impose a flat tax of 2 percent on the wealthiest 1 percent of New Yorkers.
In transportation, “among Mr Mamdani’s most distinctive campaign promises is his vow to make city buses free. As a state legislator, Mr Mamdani worked with Gov Kathy Hochul to start a pilot programme offering free fares on five bus routes for a limited period.”
During former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, Mamdani participated in a 15-day hunger strike in support of the city’s [often immigrant] taxi drivers – resulting in the city agreeing to establish a programme to forgive millions of dollars in debt for drivers.
On immigration, Mamdani, now a naturalised US citizen, has said that New York City should strengthen its sanctuary laws, which have come under attack during the Trump administration.
Mamdani pledged to bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from city facilities while increasing legal support for immigrants being targeted and protecting their personal data.
“Trump’s ICE has adopted a policy of guilty until proven innocent with immigrant New Yorkers, disappearing New Yorkers from their homes without charge,” he told The New York Times. “Our city should fight for their release while defending the First Amendment and due process rights.”
In addition to a host of other policy reforms, Mamdani has proposed that City University of New York should offer free tuition to all students.
Win or lose in the November mayoral vote, this born in East Africa disruptor shows what is possible.
