“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
The above quote is a cliché at this point, but as Democrats prepare to pick our next mayor, it bears repeating.
New Yorkers are fed up with stubbornly high crime, soaring rents, and mediocre schools.
The career politicians that got us into this mess already had their chance to fix our problems. Sending yet another one back to City Hall would be the definition of insanity.
This city needs real change. As a businessman, not a politician, I am the only real change candidate in the Democratic field.
I have started half a dozen small businesses in the city and have dedicated my adult life to making sure every child in this city gets a good education. I helped found Teach for America as a young college graduate and went on to serve on the New York City board of KIPP charter schools for two decades.
As mayor, I would restore common sense to a city where corruption and far-left extremism have too often ruled the day.
Five years ago, New York effectively decriminalized all but the most serious offenses. I will make crime illegal again by actually punishing repeat offenders. I will end street homelessness by building more shelter beds and prohibiting outdoor sleeping. And I’ll build 500,000 new housing units.
Perhaps most importantly, as an outsider, I am not beholden to the special interests that make politicians afraid to say the right thing, let alone do it.
That’s why I’ve dedicated the final weeks of my campaign to talking about my plans to fix our failing public schools and the threat that my opponent, Zohran Mamdani, poses to the city.
I am free to speak honestly about our public schools because, unlike every other Democrat in the race, I am not seeking the endorsement of the teachers union.
So here’s the truth: New York City parents are getting ripped off.
We spend $40 billion per year, roughly $40,000 a kid. That’s a million dollars for two kids from K through 12. Yet our children are reading below those in Mississippi, which spends only $12,000 a year.
I will turn our schools around by appointing a reform-oriented schools chancellor, unleashing our world-class charter sector, and applying the same accountability that charter schools have to all public schools. Traditional public schools should have to demonstrate they are getting the job done or risk probation and closure, just as charter schools do every five years.
I’ll also negotiate hard with the teachers union so we can reward our best teachers with higher pay.
What’s more, I am the only candidate in the race sounding the alarm about Mamdani. I can do that, because unlike many of my opponents, I am not trying to get Mamdani’s voters to rank me second or third.
On public safety, the economy, and the fight against antisemitism, Mamdani would take New York City backward.
Mamdani is an anti-police radical. He tweeted in 2020 that he wants to “defund” and “dismantle” the “wicked” NYPD. Mamdani is also a leading member of the Democratic Socialists of America, which would abolish policing entirely.
Now Mamdani wants us to believe he’s moderated. I don’t believe him. After all, he still claims we can fight crime without hiring a single new cop, even though the NYPD headcount is at a 34-year low.
Mamdani’s economic policies are no better. The city budget is already more than $115 billion. We spend more money per person than any other city in the world.
But Mamdani wants to both raise our debt to unconstitutional levels — and raise taxes on the businesses that make our city prosper.
Again, Mamdani has tried to hide how radical his plans are. He says he just wants to raise our top corporate tax rate to New Jersey’s level, but he leaves out the existing costs of our MTA tax, our city income tax, and our mobility tax. That would bring our business taxes up to more than 24% — double New Jersey and three times Connecticut. Businesses will leave — in droves.
Finally, Mamdani has stoked the fires of antisemitism through his unhealthy obsession with Israel, spreading the lie that Israel is guilty of “genocide.” We need a mayor who will stand up to the antisemitic mobs in our streets, not egg them on.
If you find yourself nodding in agreement to these unpopular truths and are ready for a fresh voice at City Hall, I hope to earn your vote.
Tilson, an investor and civic activist, is a candidate for mayor in this month’s Democratic Party primary.
