New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked his 100th day in office by touting his socialist policies.
Mamdani told the crowd that it “seems that you eventually need a socialist to clean up the mess.”
“For 102 days, we have endeavored to do exactly that, delivering both public goods and public excellence,” he declared. “That is the change that government can deliver, and it is the change that democratic socialism can deliver.”
“I know there are many who use ‘socialist’ as a dirty word — something to be ashamed of. They can try all they want, but we will not be ashamed of using government to fight for the many, not simply the few. We will not be ashamed of adding more heat pumps to NYCHA buildings in the Rockaways, or building more supportive housing in Harlem or standing steadfast alongside our trans neighbors,” he said. “We will not be ashamed of investing in youth mental health clinics, or working to close Rikers or fighting for immigrants targeted by ICE. To any New Yorker, whether you’re under attack from the federal government’s cruelty or suffocating under the affordability crisis, we will stand beside you.”
He declared that government is a “series of choices.”
“Socialism is the choice to fight for every New Yorker — to extend democracy from the ballot box to the rest of our lives. We are hardly the first socialists to embrace good governance,” Mamdani continued, explaining that a former mayor of Milwaukee, Daniel Webster Hoan, “made no apologies for being a socialist.”
Mamdani went on to address the “cynics” of socialism, proclaiming, “[W]hen socialists make promises, we go after it and get it. So, let us look forward to the next promises we will keep.”
