Zohran Mamdani's Mandate
and the
Death of the Old Playbook
and the
Death of the Old Playbook
As John Lennon sang,
Imagine all the people,
livin' life in peace...
I hope someday you'll join us,
and the world will live as one.
This week, the world took a step closer toward living as one as the city serving as the world's stage, New York City, elected a person as mayor with that same vision, albeit half a century later.
Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory, powered by a record-breaking turnout of over two million voters, was not just an election--it was a mandate. It was a clear, unambiguous declaration from the people that the "same-old, same-old" isn't working anymore.
But before this new future can be fully realized there remain many struggles ahead a little bit of housekeeping to take care of.
That housekeeping concerns the "establishment playbook"—a cynical set of tactics that says if you can't win on facts, use fear. It’s a playbook that relies on dirty, underhanded tactics, and we all saw it deployed in this election.
Case in point: the reprehensible smear campaign run by a pro-Cuomo super PAC. The ad depicted Zohran Mamdani in a photo with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, flashing the words "Jihad on NYC" across the screen . The entire attack was a lazy, Islamophobic "guilt by association" fallacy, hinging on the fact that Imam Wahhaj was named an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
This tactic is the very definition of "same-old, same-old." It wasn't even new.
The data clearly confirm establishment figures like Senator Chuck Schumer used this exact same controversial label against this exact same individual in a 2003 Senate Judiciary hearing. But it goes back even further than that.
The "unindicted co-conspirator" label traces to a 1995 pretrial disclosure in the Omar Abdel-Rahman trial. In that letter, prosecutors listed over 170 individuals, including Imam Wahhaj, as potential co-conspirators for technical, evidentiary purposes. Andrew McCarthy, the lead prosecutor, has repeatedly clarified—both in 2017 and 2025—that this was a standard, broad filing, not an accusation of guilt, stating, "There was no evidence that Imam Wahhaj had any knowledge of, much less participation in, the 1993 plot."
The phrase only gained public traction in this context on June 26, 2003, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. It was Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) who first weaponized this legal footnote, using it in a critique of Republican judicial nominees' associations. Before Senator Schumer’s statement, no public records or media reports used this specific, damaging term for Imam Wahhaj or in a politically weaponized manner. For over 20 years, Imam Wahhaj has had his life marred by this politically weaponized, legally dubious term that should be laid to rest once and for all. The 2025 ad was just a cynical echo of a 2003 smear.
This is the establishment playbook. A 22-year-old political smear, birthed by a high-ranking Democrat, was recycled by another establishment Democrat's (Andrew Cuomo's) super PAC to attack a progressive challenger.
The establishment (*ahem* Sen. Schumer, we're looking at you) owes Imam Wahhaj an apology. Andrew Cuomo owes Zohran Mamdani an apology. And then the phrase "unindicted co-conspirator" needs to be put to bed, once and for all.
But here is the proof that Mr. Mamdani's mandate is real: the smear--and all the other dirty tactics employed in the establishment's playbook during Cuomo's campaign--didn't work.
The people of New York City are tired of politics behind closed doors. They are tired of being told their only choice is an "experience" that only knows "how to keep a broken system running" . They want transparency, they want excitement, and they want a bold, new vision.
Nowhere was this rebuke of the old playbook clearer than within the LGBTQIA+ community.
The establishment (Cuomo) offered a strategy of hypocrisy. He ran on his 2011 Marriage Equality record while simultaneously accepting the 2025 endorsement of Rubén Díaz Sr. —a man vocally opposed to gay marriage who stated the City Council was "controlled by the homosexual community." He offered no new ideas, not even a dedicated LGBTQ section on his website .
Zohran Mamdani, by contrast, spoke #TruthToPower. He used the full "LGBTQIA+" acronym in his ads. He proposed a detailed, funded $87 million "Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.." He offered something not often seen in politics today: integrity. And he coupled that with experiential campaigning.
The result? The community consolidated behind him in a "huuuuuuuge" way. Nearly every single out LGBTQIA+ City Council member—Tiffany Cabán, Erik Bottcher, Shekar Krishnan, Crystal Hudson, Chi Ossé, and Lynn Schulman—endorsed Mamdani . This wasn't just an election; it was a realignment.
Now, the establishment won't go quietly. The uphill battle to pass rent freezes , universal childcare , and the taxes to fund them will be immense. The same forces that ran the smear ads will now fight him in Albany .
But this is no longer a back-room political fight. Mamdani's mandate is built on a "movement," on "joyful" campaigning, and on a grassroots coalition that recaptured the rebel spirit of the 60s and 70s. This is a fight for hearts and minds, a fight to prove that we can end the suffering, that our government can work for all of us, not just $um [sic] of us.
How can I best support your efforts, Mr. Mamdani? I'm all ears. Again, congratulations on making history.
