Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, is (despite his denials) quite clearly a Marxist, dreaming of the day when he can seize the means of production. He is also a Twelver Shi’ite Muslim — you know, the good folks who rule the Islamic Republic of Iran and scream “Death to America” on a routine basis. And so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Mamdani’s plans for New York are not exactly going to transform the Big Apple into a hub for business and opportunity.
If Mamdani gets his way, the city will become even more expensive, crime-ridden, inefficient, squalid, dirty, and dangerous as it is now. And New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-Planned Parenthood), despite previously being decidedly lukewarm about Mamdani’s socialist schemes, has just given the earnest young leftist mayor-to-be a massive boost, stopping an attempt to limit his powers.
Proponents of the measure were not trying to place illegitimate restraints upon Mamdani just because they disagreed with him. They were actually trying to remove an odd element of the city statutes that allows the mayor to run roughshod over the will of the City Council and to, in short, behave like a dictator. This is a power that the mayor never should have had in the first place, and now it’s going to be in the hands of a mayor who has made it abundantly clear that he would like nothing better than to transform the nation’s largest city into a third-world hellhole. Or into even more of a third-world hellhole than it already is.
The New York Post reported Monday that Hochul had given a “gift” to Mamdani by vetoing legislation that “would have undone a quirk in which council-approved amendments to the city charter can effectively be ‘bumped’ by the mayor.” Hochul did Mamdani this favor despite endorsing him only a week before the mayoral election, and after publicly opposing his bleed-the-rich plans last June, saying: “I’m not raising taxes at a time where affordability is the big issue. I don’t want to lose any more people to Palm Beach. We’ve lost enough.”
A council spokesperson said that Hochul’s veto was “disappointing and leaves a major threat to democracy and good governance in place for New York City and local governments across the state. State law should not continue to enable mayors to abusively and undemocratically block ballot access for local lawmakers and voters to propose referenda.” Yeah, wow, that sounds like a power that only a communist would want.
The Post explains that “the council currently can propose that changes to the city charter — essentially the Big Apple constitution — be put to a vote by New Yorkers. But the mayor has the power to ‘bump’ the suggested amendments from the ballot by establishing a charter revision commission.” The bill that Hochul vetoed would have “revoked the mayor’s power to push the council’s proposed charter changes off the ballot.”
Instead, Mamdani will come into office with this power intact, which is just perfect for a man who wants to change New York radically and irrevocably.
Assemblymember Tony Simone (D-Manhattan), who supported the measure to put the restraint on the mayor’s powers, stated: “The actions of past mayors and undoubtedly future mayors have shown the necessity of ending the mayors power to bump other charter proposals off the ballot. I am disappointed by this veto and will continue working towards reform in the new year.”
Related: Why Mamdani's Term as NYC Mayor Is CERTAIN to Be a Catastrophe
Likewise, State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), who sponsored the bill that Hochul shot down, said: “This change in the law doesn’t take away a mayor’s right to create a commission and put his or her own recommendations on the ballot. But it does allow the City Council and public the right to put their own questions on the ballot as well.” She also “wondered if Mamdani had asked Hochul for the veto,” which is an excellent question.
Hochul didn’t address that, but she did assert that she vetoed the measure to prevent “voter confusion.” Once Mamdani is mayor for awhile, voter confusion will be the least of New Yorkers’ worries.
In the end, however, you get what you vote for. Or at least leftists do. Both Simone and Krueger voted for Mamdani. And so now they can enjoy the fruits of their own judgment.
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