[adma]

To me Mamdani is more like Bob Rae: a young, good looking lefty who took advantage of anger and frustration, got the youth upset enough to secure a fluke victory for a lefty that will I suspect be constantly undermined by media, corporations, rich people, and he will be forced into moderating his positions and that will piss off his left wing supporters, and he will struggle to win re-election in 2029 as a result of pissing off his base.

Never mind Rae; let's not forget the Jack Layton '11 comparisons.

Though to build upon that, one thing in the result I found intriguing was how Cuomo held his own in *Manhattan*, particularly in places like Tribeca and the Upper East Side--like there was a certain class of affluent urban Dem that just couldn't stomach making the full jump to Zohran; and *that* might be comparable to '11's urban "Iggy Liberal" electorate that wasn't exactly Harperite but nonetheless couldn't make the jump to Jack. A sort of NYC equivalent to the Quadra/St Paul's demo (and much more evident in the filthy-rich milieu of present-day Manhattan than in the somewhat less uppity realm of Brooklyn)

 

[Admiral Beez]

What would increase NYC transit ridership more: free fares or investing that foregone revenue into more service? It's almost always the latter. Not collecting fares makes sense when the cost of collecting fare is a large percentage of the fare revenue (as you see in small towns).

Once you take the subway in Singapore or Hong Kong, the sorry state of the MTA and TTC subways are clear to see.

 

[kEiThZ]

What part of Trudeau's policies were a disaster?

There's books and documentaries about this. But let's start with his worst failure: breaking the decades long societal and political consensus on immigration in Canada. We've had decades of polling where Canadians mostly said immigration was a positive for the country. Then came Trudeau.

His other big failing? Trump. He saw that man get elected in his first term. Instead of hardening the country for any potential return of Trump, he basically wrote off the threat and didn't prepare for Trump 2.0.

I think history will judge him harshly for those. I won't even get into the promises he made in 2015 but never delivered on. But if we ran a poll today, how many people do you think would genuinely say they are better off today then in 2015 when Trudeau was first elected?

If you want more, let's discuss this recent Paikin interview:

If there is this kind of margin in 2026, that gerrymandering may just result in a lot more Texas Dem seats next year. The GOP is counting on narrow GOP majorities to waste a lot of Democratic votes, a small swing can upset all those races.

Exactly. Gerrymandering relies on your party getting lots of narrow wins. If the other party really turns out, you'll get lots of narrow losses. If this kind of turnout is there next year, the Republicans are going to get absolutely trounced.

 

[kEiThZ]

Hasn't Orangeville's transit usage doubled since they removed fares?

Places like Tallinn and Augsburg have free transit and Prague has had it in the past.

The fact that you think what works in Orangeville (32k), Tallinn (465k) and Augsburg (300k) are comparable to NYC (8.5M) says it all. But also, those European cities have substantial public funding for transit which NYC doesn't. So every dollar going to pay fare subsidies means less for capital investment and service improvement. And one trip on the NYC subway will convince you that they need the money.

 

[kEiThZ]

He is going to fail spectacularly, or renege on his platform. Probably both.

It's really going to be interesting. I'm curious to see what the take here is in a few years. The comparisons here are funny. At least Jack Layton knew the difference between federal and provincial powers.

 

[T3G]

No way that Mamdani does worse than a corrupt, egotistical sleazebag like Cuomo, even if he isn't able to make good on all his promises. The fact that Cuomo thought he had a reasonable chance of making a comeback is a pretty fine indictment of everything wrong with American politics. And who can blame him for thinking that, when Trump managed to get a second go?

Donny boy and all the establishment Dems seem terrified of Mamdani, so he must be onto something.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

I get there's always a question of how Mamdani is going to fulfill many of his promises and stated goals given the level at being mayor. But I suspect he will try...

...which is different from saying a whole bunch of progressives things to get elected and having the power to do so once they got in but didn't.

 

[evandyk]

I don't think the comparisons of Mamdani to Rae or Layton are apt. Those two people became leaders of political parties that weren't expected to win, and they brought unexpected electoral results.

Mamdani won the leadership contest of the party that was totally expected to win. He's more like Justin Trudeau, a young fresh face taking over the leadership of an established electoral machine, and riding that to power.

 

[wopchop]

It showed me the Dems have been playing Republican-lite for way too long, and that progressive Candidates don't need the backing of the gerontocracy above them (if they need the party at all). If the Democrats don't take this wake-up call soon, the party's gonna die in its sleep.

Not sure about that. Sherrill is hardly in the same category as Mamdani, she is much more centrist/moderate, and was part of the new Democrat coalition, and previously the Blue Dogs.

I think the lesson of these elections is that people are tired of their government's nonsense because what they really care about are rising costs and economic prospects, which they are not addressing or are actively making worse.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Also what works in NYC wouldn't necessarily work elsewhere - the candidates really have to reflect the local conditions (while still belonging to the big tent).

AoD

 

[kEiThZ]

Also what works in NYC wouldn't necessarily work elsewhere - the candidates really have to reflect the local conditions (while still belonging to the big tent).

AoD

Remains to be seen if it works in NYC too. The guy has basically promised rainbows and unicorns to all. He will inevitably fail to deliver. Will that make New Yorkers swing right or left after? Hard to say.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Remains to be seen if it works in NYC too. The guy has basically promised rainbows and unicorns to all. He will inevitably fail to deliver. Will that make New Yorkers swing right or left after? Hard to say.

I don't mean whether his policies will work - more like his platform/approach so far as electoral success is concerned.

AoD

 

[zang]

Not sure about that. Sherrill is hardly in the same category as Mamdani, she is much more centrist/moderate, and was part of the new Democrat coalition, and previously the Blue Dogs.

There was undoubtedly a wave, and all dems rode it. I was specifically talking about Zohran there. Mamdani was all but openly booted from the party, had almost non existent support from anyone higher up, literally ran against an old-guard democrat, and still managed to take the "second toughest job in America" with a clear majority.

He was able to prove that even with most of the Democrat machine working against him, he could still both succeed and make glaringly obvious the cracks in their facade. He was able to do what even Bernie couldn't.

I think the lesson of these elections is that people are tired of their government's nonsense because what they really care about are rising costs and economic prospects, which they are not addressing or are actively making worse.

I think people are tired of Trump, and many feel duped.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I think people are tired of Trump, and many feel duped.

Beware of overly extravagant promises from *anyone*.

AoD

 

[PinkLucy]

I have seen a lot of hand wringing, overt racism and plenty of hate over a Muslim being NYC’s mayor. However, I quite like this response