A Mayoral Mess: Is Mamdani Support Fading Despite Cuomo Massive Transgressions, Sliwa Hangs In, UFT Retirees Battle Each Other

Which is the bigger threat to Mamdani's winning? Cuomo/Bloomberg/Trump - an unholy alliance -  or the UFT's perpetual loser mayoral endorsement? 

I just got a call from some of the few liberals in Breezy Point asking my advice on the propositions and I informed them on what an awful person Cuomo is -- I put him in Trump personality territory and may have won two votes for Mamdani. 

 Who knew, that Orthodox rabbis support and defend Mamdani for speaking truth to power? Their defense is so very smart and compassionate. https://youtu.be/7NmGPStXWl0?si=enDu0QNRIEphOZUU

While Mamdani has some big enthusiasm but there is not a lot of enthusiasm among some voters for either candidate - who do you hate more - Cuomo or Mamdani? No one really hates Sliwa.

NY Daily News: Trump backs Cuomo for mayor, says NYC must vote for him and stop Mamdani

President Trump urged Republican voters in New York City late Monday to cross party lines and support Andrew Cuomo for mayor as part of an 11th hour bid to stop Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani from taking over the reins at City Hall. 

Wow - looks like Trump is getting desperate - why is he threatened by Mamdani? My guess he fears his ability to mobilize people - imagine if he has 90K volunteers, imagine a million people on the street. Oh, and Eli Musk just joined the anti-Mamdani crowd. Even Trump backers admit Mamdani has run a disciplined effective campaign. That scares them.

Monday, Nov. 3 - Election Eve

I wanted to get this out before tomorrow and I hope to have a follow-up by tomorrow night. Surprise, surprise - It might be rambling just a bit.

Even as I finish this up, polls show the election tightening to 4 points and tomorrow it could be 2 points. Bloomberg has tossed millions joined by other billionaires in a desperate attempt to stop Mamdani -- thus joining Trump who endorsed Cuomo. The negative ads seem to be working. I hope he not only wins but wins big. 45% to 40% with Sliwa dropping to 15%. 

Yet another poll shows: The most recent polls place Mamdani 14.7 points ahead of Cuomo, according to a RealClearPolitics poll average. 

The voting so far looks good for him -- especially this weekend's young people turnout, while last weekend it was the older folks which might favor Cuomo.

Given the attacks on Zohran, ask yourself why Trump is so desperate for him to lose? One would think he would be happy to have a foil. To me that is the best sign of the threat Mamdani represents ideologically to Republicans and the corporate Dems who run the party. And to the billionaires. Just looking at the line-up against him should get him votes.

The joy Mamdani's backers felt in June, though, has been morphing into some jitters, as his machine begs his 90k volunteers to go out and canvass to the last minute. (I hate canvasing but forced myself to do some.)

Today's NYT takes one more swipe at Mandani with this headline: 

Questions of Readiness Persists for Mamdani: Even some of his backers worry about his thin resume.  "He is not ready," said Maria Fattore (from his Astoria territory), saying she had unhappily switcher her vote from Mamdani to Cuomo. And in Manhattan, an old hippy who was leaning Mamdani, admitted to misgivings. I'm not sure he has the experience to deal with what's going on in this city..."

I'll admit to some worries, especially based on my conversations with liberals who are voting for Cuomo - mostly non-Jews by the way, so Israel is not a factor, though one close Jewish friend from Long Island is very concerned and told me Rabbis in many synagogues are railing against him. 

Some people just don't care for him - they see phony charm and a child of privilege - intellectual privilege for sure but also economic - if he hadn't been accepted to Bronx Science, he would have never gone to a public school - and a college few could afford. While he is adored by many, we need to keep some level of skepticism. 

I have fallen for his charm and love his interactions on long interviews - see the one he did with John Steward on The Daily Show last Monday. He was also on Sam Seder's Majority Report last Wednesday - he has no fear of talking to anyone. 

I voted Brad Lander #1 and Mamdani 2 in the primary, though my left-leaning instincts pushed me towards the latter and still does. But if it were Lander running instead of Cuomo at this point, I think he might win.

Even some leftists see Zohran as a privileged scion, reaching above his head, as we see in this comment from a mid-career NYC teacher:

I say this as someone who voted for Mamdani twice; with all due respect, I think he’s an arrogant little prick who thinks really highly of himself for little reason.  But, given the alternative, he’s got my vote. My frustration with Mamdani is that he has accomplished almost nothing in his life.  But, he talks big.  That’s all fine.  But, when he’s finally at the moment of actually accomplishing something big (for himself), he turns his back on pretty much one of the only people (Marianne Pizzitola) I’ve seen in this city who has actually done something for working people. [I will delve deeper into the Zohran/Marianne controversy in a follow-up).

I don't agree with his assessment but it shows how some of his voters are thinking. 

On the other hand, much of the left is still glowing, as this In These Times Oct. 31 piece indicates where so much of his support is coming from.

​“Why are you so excited to show him to everyone?” 

“Because we love him,” says Alam, who works the night shift from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.

It’s a sentiment I hear from taxi drivers, nurses and restaurant workers.

Zohran Mamdani on the Night Shift for Mayor: As Election Day nears, the Democratic mayoral candidate returns to his base among New York City’s multiracial working class.

The article points to how many city unions support him, including our own beloved UFT - and that has caused more than a little rancor in the ranks -- but that gets complicated, which I will try to untangle further down. 

Based on my political instincts, conversations with liberals, and my usual pessimistic outlook, I'm worried. The continuous fear-mongering attacks on him with the influx of billionaire money has had an impact - their goal is not just to make him lose, but to weaken him and make him ineffectual to prove socialist thinking doesn't work is their goal. 

Last weekend most voters were on the plus side of 50, which did not look good. But this past weekend the younger people came out -- so maybe it's a wash. 

Warning signs ahead. 

I will feel more nervous than elated if he wins.

I see him as a unique political talent - his thoughtfulness in interviews even as he duck some issues and his likeability and sense of humor will carry him - but only so far. Thought and ideas are good, but as John Stewart pointed out to him last week: If you fail to deliver on the basics of running the city, there will be a harsh reaction -- remember Mayor Lindsay and the Feb. 1969 snow storm. 

I believe that the honchos in both parties have a big stake in seeing a socialist failure as a way to put a stake into the heart of any progressive move to take over the Dem Party. That is what makes me nervous --- he will turn into Hope and NO CHANGE. Or worse, will be as unpopular as Chicago left wing mayor Brandon Johnson - though I don't follow Chicago very much nowadays and was proud when a Chicago union teacher was elected - but some of his speeches turn me off.

I've been working on a piece on this election for over a week and the more I talk to people the more confused I get. I voted and canvased for Mamdani, but I go from enthusiastic support to questions. What keeps me in line are his opponents - the awful Cuomo and the Republican Sliwa, who I would actually prefer to Cuomo, who is an awful human being and not to be trusted, especially around women.  

I found the attacks on Zohran over the Medicare issue coming from retirees disconcerting because those attacks pointed us to Cuomo.

Can I make a guess based on my own personal contacts or my own "feelings"? 

For instance, my sense of the Jersey gov race is that the Dem is an awful candidate and may lose - today's polls show a dead heat -- in some ways I think a loss for a center/right corporate anti- progressive Dem would not be the worst thing, though the Virginia gov candidate seems much better and will win. But I think Trump's cancellation of the Hudson tunnel helps the Dem.

In my circle of liberal friends I see danger signs. Last night I ran into a liberal friend (not many in my area), who is a neighbor. I reminded her of election night 2008 when she invited us over to celebrate the Obama victory. She is voting for Cuomo because she doesn't trust a guy as young as Mamdani. Another Rockaway liberal friend has mocked Mamdani and a couple we know from Brooklyn feel the same way -- even having a level of disgust towards him. None of these people are Jewish, so Israel is not a factor. My sense it is more about how young he is, their feelings he hasn't done much and is arrogant for running. In other words, his age and lack of a resume are resonating as much as the issues.

I get this from people -- they view Mamdani as a rich kid playing politics. So, how many people are voting for Mamdani or against Cuomo? 

If Brad Lander has run as an independent instead of Cuomo, I'd give him an even chance -- he would gather votes from the Cuomo haters and more Republican votes.

Last week, in conversations with people I met in some of my classes and tours I gave, including some UFT retirees, there was clear support and even enthusiasm for Mamdani. But I had lunch last week with a guy who was on my Murray Hill tour -- from Riverdale with an 11 year old daughter - not a teacher but a businessman running his own business in the city -- and he brought it up - he was excited at Mamdani -- he looked to be in his early 50s.

So, personal conversations are a mixed bag -- and I have to adhere to this dictum: judgments based on snippets of conversation may not reflect a person's considered, complete, or public stance, leading to misrepresentation.

NYC Retirees attack retirees who back Mamdani. 

Zohran Mamdani & his followers disrespect Retirees -- headline on NYC retirees

WTF - I'm a Mamdani follower, so I, who have fought for retirees from the day the attack on Medicare began in April 2020, before the NYC Retirees even existed, am now someone who disrespects retirees? That's so fucked up.

I was about to get into the retiree battles in the UFT over the anti-Mamdani position Marianne Pizzitola has taken and the reaction to it, but let's wait until tomorrow or the next day -- but I will say, she has taken a risk in dipping too deep into divisive politics and even some her most loyal supporters are disturbed -- Did she fail to follow her own advice she gave to UFT retirees to stick to the issue? Well, in some ways she did and in some ways she did not. I may even dip into my changing views on Israel -- which reflects growing feelings in the Jewish community, 30 or more % going for Mamdani.

I will attempt to untangle it all tomorrow - or maybe never.

Meanwhile check out these NYT articles:

Mamdani’s Candidacy Roils Jewish Communities Across the Country

Who Should Be Mayor of New York City?

Trump’s Greatest Ally is The Democratic Party - The Chris Hedges Report

The Democratic Party and its liberal allies refuse to call for mass mobilization and strikes — the only tools that can thwart Trump’s emergent authoritarianism — fearing they too will be swept aside.