The new mayor considers police work ineffective and advocates for criminal justice reform.
The elected mayor believes that agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement "will try to terrorize residents of all five" boroughs.
The New York City mayoral election took place on November 4. Mamdani, who won the election, promised his supporters on the same day that under his leadership, the metropolis "will remain a city of immigrants, built by immigrants, driven by immigrants, and now led by an immigrant." Mamdani also stated that he will be sworn in as mayor of New York City on January 1, 2026. The city is currently led by Eric Adams, who initially sought re-election as an independent candidate but announced his withdrawal from the race in September.
Mamdani belongs to the left progressive wing of the Democratic Party and identifies as a democratic socialist.
During his campaign, he promised to freeze housing rent, organize free bus routes, open city-subsidized supermarkets, and undertake a number of other measures to reduce the cost of living by increasing taxes on the wealthiest segment of the population. In addition to a wealth tax, he intends to introduce a property tax for private universities in New York to redirect funds to finance free education in the public university system. He advocates for expanding immigrant rights. He considers police work ineffective, calls for criminal justice reform, including budget cuts for the police, and reallocating funds to social needs.
He condemns the bombings in the Gaza Strip, accuses Tel Aviv of "apartheid" and "genocide" against the Arab population, and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. He criticizes the policies of Venezuelan and Cuban presidents Nicolás Maduro and Miguel Díaz-Canel, but opposes sanctions against these countries, blaming Washington for worsening the lives of civilians in those nations.
In 2018, he obtained US citizenship while retaining his Ugandan passport. He is married to an American artist of Syrian descent, Rama Duvaji.
