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NEW YORK, NY — Today, the New York Times Opinion published the results of a panel that found that Zohran Mamdani has the most potential to be a great mayor of New York City.
The panel featured 14 leading New Yorkers, including community advocate A. Mychal Johnson, Minister Frederick A. Davie, financial executive Antonio Weiss and former State Senator Iwen Chu.
11 members of the panel ranked Zohran as the candidate with the greatest potential to be a great mayor of New York City — a notable and near-total reversal of opinion from the results of a similar Times Opinion panel convened ahead of the Democratic Primary this June.
The June primary panel found Cuomo besting Zohran in the candidate rankings, with Zohran finishing as the third highest rated candidate and the top choice of just two panelists.
Here’s a little bit of what they said:
“I don’t trust Cuomo to protect New York City. I think that he will acquiesce to Donald Trump in ways that he says he won’t, but he’s a lot of bluster.” — Christina M. Greer Political scientist and a host of the “FAQ NYC” podcast
“On Trump, Cuomo has already sold out. He’s not really spoken out against the harmful things the Trump administration has already done. He’s courting many of the same kinds of voters.” — Whitney Toussaint Co-president of Community Education Council 30 in Queens
“Mamdani has talked about how policing alone cannot solve social issues happening on the street — trauma, mental health, housing. If the police are the first in, people in crisis end up in Rikers, not in care. That’s not the answer.” — A. Mychal Johnson South Bronx social justice advocate
“We basically have hope versus despair. Cuomo is despair. Each one has different strengths. But my students are working for Mamdani. And I mean of every race and income.” — Mitchell L. Moss Urban policy professor at N.Y.U.
“One thing that’s really resonating with folks, including myself, about Mamdani’s platform is that it feels like he’s willing to try new things and to push the envelope.” — Caitlin Kawaguchi Nonprofit strategist and community representative in Brooklyn
