in early June, Mamdani did an event with Khan, praising her and former antitrust enforcer Zephyr Teachout and discussed “taking on corporate power, lowering the cost of living and building an economy that works for working people.”
Mamdani linked his campaign with anti-monopoly arguments, focusing on the cost of living and blaming well-known villains like the utility giant Con Edison, suggesting that the city fund challenges to the utility’s rate increases in dockets. He proposed a ban on non-compete agreements in New York City, which was one of the core goals of former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan. And he discussed ending junk fees and predatory contracts.
riding a wave of young voters angry about the cost of living to defeat the entrenched party machine that has controlled New York politics for decades.
His financial support came from small donors and public campaign funds provided by New York City’s unusual election system, and his base was younger voters upset at the high cost of living.
Mamdani will be taking on established ensconced agreements made with establishment democratic mayors throughout the years. His work will be cut out for him. I expect the establishment will fight him tooth and nail.
To give you a sense of the level of rage and fear among the superwealthy, billionaire John Catsimatidis, the CEO of grocery chain Gristedes, said that if Mamdani won, he would close down his chain of New York supermarkets.
Establishment elite Cuomo’s financial support came from Wall Street, billionaires like Bill Ackman, as well as the real estate industry. The Democratic establishment went all-in.