Zohran Mamdani netted key support from the Bronx Democratic Party Tuesday in the borough where he had a weak showing during the primary, though Borough President Vanessa Gibson was a no-show.
Elected leaders at the event, held near Yankee Stadium, hammered the idea of party unity — a pointed message to leaders like Gov. Hochul, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who have not yet backed the party nominee.
“Just get over it,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said. “Zohran won.”
But Gibson, who was slated to appear alongside Mamdani on Tuesday, didn’t come to the event nor did her office return questions as to why she wasn’t there.
Gibson over the weekend praised Mamdani’s opponent, Mayor Adams, calling him a “five-borough mayor.” “He has delivered for us,” she said.
Mamdani’s campaign attributed her absence to a scheduling conflict.
This election cycle is seeing a rare competitive general election, with Adams and ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo both opting to run on independent tickets.
Despite Mamdani’s primary victory, some establishment leaders and business executives have been reluctant to line up behind him over concerns about his pro-Palestinian stance and support for tax hiles to fund his affordability agenda.
“Now is the time that all of us must stand arm in arms, shoulder to shoulder with no space between us, and now is the time to get behind someone who understands the challenges in New York City and someone who’s not afraid to stand up to individuals who want to challenge New York City,” Attorney General Leticia James said. “… He’s going to bring us all together.”
Mamdani received 34% of first round votes in the June primary, as compared to Cuomo’s 52%. The only other borough he lost was Staten Island.
“Zohran and I don’t agree on 100% of the issues,” Bronx Councilmember Oswald Feliz said. “We don’t agree on 100% of the issues, but that’s okay. It’s not the end of the world… Even when there’s disagreement, I can guarantee you that Zohran will always enter the room not to speak to but to listen.”
The candidate is running on populist promises of freezing rents for rent-stabilized tenants, free childcare and a “Department of Community Safety” that would expand violence interrupter programs and deploy mental health teams.
“I have heard time and time again of how this affordability crisis has left this city as the most expensive in the United States of America,” Mamdani, a Bronx Science graduate, said. “That crisis is felt with the most intensity right here, in the Bronx. It is a crisis where the effects of poverty and of negligence and City Hall’s failures are felt most keen.”
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who has been complimentary of Mamdani, has not yet offered his formal endorsement.
Also on Tuesday, former Mayor de Blasio endorsed Mamdani, writing in the Daily News that he’s the right choice for mayor “because in his heart and in his bones he cannot accept a city that prices out the people who built it and keep it running.”
