Returning from Wilmington to New York after a sabbatical on the Kamala Harris campaign, I was struck by the metaphoric nature of the trip. After 2016, I jumped into the resistance, protecting democracy by working to elect Democrats in purple districts and states.
But I shifted to local politics, and Donald Trump’s second win validated why. Here, Democrats are in charge but aren’t solving voters’ problems — hurting us, the party brand, and faith in democracy.
Trump improved more in blue bastions than in battlegrounds. Statewide, Democrats had their poorest showing since 1988. In the city, their 37-point win margin was down from 54 in 2020 — and 63 in 2016.
Yes, prices and migration provoked incumbent losses worldwide, while disinformation led voters to falsely believe inflation and violence are at record highs. Still, voters also responded to Democrats’ real failures to improve cost of living and quality of life.
When 75% of voters said inflation caused them “severe” or “moderate” hardship, they largely meant housing — 70% of inflation’s annual increase. In New York, rents are rising seven times faster than wages. Numbers of New Yorkers unhoused and unsheltered are in fact at record levels.
When voters say they fear crime, they don’t just mean murder. They’re observing real social disorder: mentally ill and drug-addicted neighbors sleeping and defecating on the streets; goods locked up in CVS and Duane Reade; fare-evaders in the subway, bikers on the sidewalk, SUV drivers speeding through red lights. Assaults, thefts, and traffic fatalities are all up.
What have New York Democrats done with executive power and legislative supermajorities? Albany hasn’t approved big housing policy, the small-bore City of Yes for Housing Opportunity was watered down before moving forward, congestion pricing is on life support.
We’re stuck in scarcity, fighting over scraps. Lack of housing means skyrocketing rents and homelessness. Lack of quality transit keeps people in cars, worsening climate change and congestion. Lack of renewable energy keeps emissions and energy costs high.
It makes sense that New York voters are alienated from the party in power, but Republicans don’t have answers either. Unwillingness to do big things is endemic left, right, and center.
Establishment Democrats and Republicans fight changes they say would harm neighborhood character or cost too much. Meanwhile, the organized left doesn’t want housing or energy developers to make money, preferring impossibly expensive or undeliverable solutions.
Stuck in these old politics, Democrats pass laws to conserve, protect, and resist — but don’t reduce cost of living, improve quality of life, or guarantee long-term safety.
Meanwhile, families flee, Electoral College votes evaporate, and the vibrancy that makes New York worth the costs dims.
New York electeds proudly nominated the vice president in Chicago and knocked doors for her in Philadelphia, but they’re ignoring the “Abundance Agenda” she ran on. Harris recognized that “the country needs more housing, transit infrastructure and clean energy if it wants to defeat challenges such as sky-high rents and climate change.”
Abundance can get federal help, but the rubber meets the road at home. Facing another Trump presidency, home will be the only place for progress.
What would an Abundance Agenda in New York mean? Enough homes so landlords compete for tenants, fast and safe public transit even the rich want to ride, and resiliency against weather emergencies. Enough public bathrooms, trash containers, safe havens, and psychiatric beds to restore order while helping our most vulnerable neighbors.
It would mean a city and state with lower costs and safer streets. Where there is no reason to fear the immigrants who are our lifeblood because there’s more than enough for everyone. Where we protect what we have today and produce more for tomorrow.
It would mean a Democratic Party not just resisting but rebuilding.
New York used to do big things, especially in times of crisis. As E.B. White wrote, “The Empire State Building shot twelve hundred and fifty feet into the air when it was madness to put out as much as six inches of new growth.” Now, it takes years to build anything or to pass half-measures to speed or clean our streets. That must end now.
I launched Abundance New York alongside an original resistance leader to advance an Abundance Agenda here. After working in national politics, we saw that Democrats, and New Yorkers, needed a new vision and new roadmap toward an affordable, secure, and vibrant future. Trump’s win proved we were right.
Democrats here have power — for now. If they want to keep it, they’d better start using it more wisely.
Kessler is the co-executive director of Abundance New York.
