Our Age Of Lousy Political Leaders

I can't stand my preferred choice in the New York City mayor's race; also why Donald Trump has me very concerned about the trajectory of the US war with Iran.

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How I Am Voting In The New York Mayor’s Race

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This has been the hardest mayoral election of my lifetime because I genuinely dislike all of the candidates. For me, that’s not unusual. I’ve never liked a New York Mayoral candidate. Freddie Ferrer - hated him. Eric Adams … really hated him. Bill DeBlasio … meh. Mark Green … fine. Mike Bloomberg … he was a good mayor, but his third-term bid was an anti-democratic outrage. I haven’t even liked the losing primary candidates. I’ve never voted for a mayoral candidate whom I truly wanted to win.

But this year is something else. I can’t stand either of the two frontrunners - Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo. The latter is attempting to rehabilitate himself after being forced to resign as governor. I don’t think he cares at all about New York City, and he’s kind of a creepy guy. Cuomo is all about personal ambition, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to run for president in 2028 (which is insane since he’ll never win). Moreover, he’s likely to get in fights with Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature, which will only be bad for New York City.

But compared to Zohran Mamdani, Cuomo is frigging Fiorello LaGuardia. Let’s put aside Mamdani's collective winks and nods to anti-Zionist and anti-Semites (and really, these two are one and the same). This includes his recent refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which, after the terrorist attacks against Jews in Washington, DC, and Boulder, Colorado, is simply deplorable. That this guy wants to be mayor of the largest Jewish Diaspora community in the world when he demonstrates no empathy or understanding of the fears of New York Jews is appalling.

And yet that isn’t even the most obvious reason not to vote for Mamdani. The guy is 33 years old and he has, literally, no management experience whatsoever. The idea that he could successfully manage New York City, probably the most intractable public management challenge in America, is pure insanity. Moreover, his policy proposals like rent freezes, creating free, government-run bodegas, and decriminalizing sex work are pie-in-the-sky ideas that have no chance of getting support in Albany (and would likely do more harm than good). So, if he wins, we’ll be stuck with an inexperienced city manager, surrounded by progressive acolytes. In other words, a Bill de Blasio redux, but likely much worse.

As much as I dislike Andrew Cuomo, I am far more fearful of Mamdani winning. At least with Cuomo, I think he can handle the city’s management challenges, and he’ll appoint smart people to top city positions.

A number of progressives (though not nearly enough for him to win) are backing City Comptroller Brad Lander. My issue with Lander is that he endorsed Shahana Hanif, my local city council member, who, from all appearances, is a straight-up anti-Semite and who has so infuriated the Jewish community in Brooklyn that she’s facing a tough primary challenge. Then Lander cross-endorsed Mamdani in the ranked-choice voting mayoral primary. I don’t doubt that he and I likely agree on most policy issues, and he’d probably be a good mayor, but at a time when American Jews are facing an unprecedented wave of anti-Semitic attacks, we need progressive Jewish politicians to stand up to it, not enable it. Lander has not earned my vote, and he won’t be getting it.

So here’s my list:

1. Scott Stringer (he won’t win and he’s run a lackluster campaign, but he’d likely be a good mayor, and I’d like my top vote to be for someone I wouldn’t mind running the city).

2. Adrienne Adams (she is Speaker of the City Council and her politics align relatively well with mine, though she won’t win).

3. Zellnor Myrie (he’s a state senator and unobjectionable).

4. Andrew Cuomo (since the first three people on my ballot won’t win, I’m effectively voting for Cuomo. I’m not happy about it, but Mamdani winning would be a catastrophe, and Cuomo is the only person in the race who can stop him.)

5. Write in: Baxter Cohen (yes, he’s a dog and technically he can’t serve as mayor, but he is adorable and I don’t like any of the other candidates).

Why I Am Still Worried About Donald Trump, War President …

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