Recent post from David SirotaMy two thoughts on this are: 1) If every Dem would talk like this, the party might be a real opposition 2) It's shameful that some Dems have been more focused on using their platforms to demonize/undermine this guy than on fighting Trump pic.x.com/QqhPxnaZuURecent post from Ryan GrimStepping back, it's really wild that Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, Dan Goldman, Kirsten Gillibrand, etc., still won't endorse the landslide winner of the Democratic nomination for NYC mayor. It's not unbelievable, exactly, but it's legit crazy. And then they wonder why
Thursday, July 3, 2025
After a June 14 Gothamist report:
This news is more than shocking. After engaging in a massive attack on DSA, claiming they had a plan to infiltrate the union and tying in the heavily DSA MORE, to endorse a DSA member for mayor might make you blink in disbelief.
There's more than a
little irony if the UFT endorses Mamdani, who has faced some of the same
attacks over his position on Palestine and fake charges of antisemitism
that ABC Pres Candidate Amy Arundell faced with many of these attacks coming from union officials and Unity Caucus hacks. Oooh the eggs on the faces of the main attackers. But don't expect them to be fired, as Amy was.
Personally,
I'm for Mamdani - no matter what his stand on the Medicare issue, his
fundamental philosophy is pro-labor and anti-privatization - and he's one impressive political talent. I will go into some details of his campaign which is fundamentally non-ideological and more bread and butter, no matter how people try to distort - like free buses, where half the people don't pay anyway and better childcare is so radical. Even his response on intifada is interesting, as Ryan Grim explains when he compares the calls to denounce him as equivalent to cancel culture from the left:
"At the very end of this rant, Gillibrand argues that it doesn’t matter what the term intifada actually means, what matters is how people receive it, and she says that black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ people have similarly offensive words that must never be said and the same standard applies here. So if you’re on the right and spent a decade denouncing this sort of thing, how is it that you are now embracing it and on Team Gillibrand?" ....
But my sense of democracy is challenged by a top-down endorsement process. If the DA was really open and not rushed we would get a snapshot of where membership stands - but I would go further.
I have
reservations about a UFT endorsement without checking the pulse of the
membership. Coming from the top as it usually does actually is harmful
as proven in previous elections where the massive UFT membership does
not seem to go along - witness the constant failures if mayoral
endorsements. My sense is this is a move to jump on the bandwagon of the
leading candidate, which actually may doom Mamdani, given the UFT track
record. A UFT endorsement will automatically elevate the chances of
Adams and or Cuomo.
There is a big push, naturally, coming from the left in the UFT, with a petition going around. So why am I bothered by that? It amounts to the same push from the top concept when the UFT leadership pushes its own interests over where the members might stand. I've been annoyed even when I agree with my left comrades on the way they push their agenda on members. Sure push your personal ideas - you have a right. But if you are trying to organize people, well how about seeing where they are at? That is precisely what Mamdani has done, as he went to Trump supporters. One surprising result in the election was how many Trump voters went for him -- the sort of Bernie/Trump concept we saw --- see NYT today:
- How Zohran Mamdani Brought New Voters to the Polls,
Halal Cart Holds Blueprint for Mamdani’s Upset
How Social Media Videos Fueled Zohran Mamdani's ...
Shocking that he actually talked to Trump voters -- something the ARISE crowd attacked ABC for. In fact I see a lot of similarities between the two campaigns - except we didn't win, of course. He reached out to new voters and so did ABC - he was more successful. He had 40k volunteers and I saw ABC with more volunteers in this campaign than I'd seen in the past - and the vote totals indicated that. Both campaigns get credit for their social media. But more on this comparison in the future.
Member driven means member driven even if the members on the whole don't agree with you. So though I would hope a clear majority of UFT members would support Mamdani, especially given the Adams/Cuomo/Sliwa alternatives, I would like to see where the actual pulse of the membership lies at this point.
The problem with pushing endorsements down the throat of members is that they alienate people unless there is a clear mandate. I think there is a strong case to be made for Mamdani but only if people get a chance to debate. Let's air the claims of anti-semitism and respond. Invite him to a meeting - invite them all.
If you really want to mobilize the membership in a campaign, win the bulk over and that takes work beyond calling an emergency summer meeting of the DA where a small minority of members will decide.
But one interesting story will emerge. The so-called left of the UFT, the ARISE crowd, will be overwhelmingly in favor and with UFT leadership backing Mamdani, we could expect overwhelming support at the DA. As for the 200k UFT membership? I'm not so sure. It weakens the union of there is a wide gap.
But one interesting story will emerge. The so-called left of the UFT, the ARISE crowd, will be overwhelmingly in favor and with UFT leadership backing Mamdani, we could expect overwhelming support at the DA. As for the 200k UFT membership? I'm not so sure. It weakens the union of there is a wide gap.
Thus, while I'm not speaking for ABC, and I think many ABCers do support Mamdani, I think there might be a sentiment to go through a more serious process in the UFT as a way to build support. At least a serious poll or a referendum -- like how about using electronic voting to do one? Oh, the Unity gang is allergic.
