Is this thing still on? Political representation in New York

My house is all in for Zohran!

Even though only 50% of us can vote (read: I am not a citizen of this country, tho I have many opinions about it) we're 100% supporters of our Ugandan desi nepo baby king!

Zohran brings something that no mainstream politician on the left has brought to the table, perhaps in my lifetime: he has a political program that represents people's needs in a simple and memorable way.

(Granted, I have only been a US person for the last 10 years but I've seen a lot of politicians in that time)

He fulfills the ideal role of a politician: to represent people

Every job has a function that it plays within our society – in theory and in practice.

Some jobs are universally recognized as important: think school teachers and firefighters. Typically these jobs are good for society both in theory and in practice.

Other jobs are more contested: in theory, bankers add liquidity to the economy. In practice, they oversupply liquidity, financialize non-financial parts of the economy, and entrench inequality between the most and least wealthy. In theory, cops keep us safe. In practice, they don't.

Typically, the job of politician fits into the second category. On paper, they represent the public in the most important functions of democratic government. Super important. But in practice, successful politicians are individualistic with a tendency for self-promotion.

The typical individualistic politician does not center the average person in their campaigns. But if they're doing their job right, they should.

Zohran's campaign has been able to center the average New Yorker through affordability. He took something that almost all New Yorkers care about and did the work to create a political program around it. New Yorkers don't have the time or mental space to create a political plan around the cost of living crisis - that's why we need representatives in government. But which government representatives ever start with ordinary people, rather than targeting some ideal theoretical voter?

His content game is not why he's successful

No one is saying that Zohran Mamdani is a shy and humble man. He is the archetype of a self-promoting politician. He hustles to be in front of New Yorkers at all times.

I never leave my house and even I have seen him at multiple different community events. I even saw him recording a quick soundbite after attending a pro-Palestine action at the Statue of Liberty. He can even come off a little desperate to be liked, yet somehow it just makes us remember his shit more.

But the key of his campaign has not been his sick content game. Nor has his slightly insincere style been a weakness.

It's that his political program is telling New Yorkers what they already believe. That the city is unaffordable. That city politics has been captured by corporate special interests. That we deserve better. His videos make people think - "Yes the city is way too expensive. Free buses are a fantastic idea, why didn't I think of that?"

He inspires people to ask for what they want. He articulates needs in a simple, repeatable way. His ideas are not crazy innovative, nor are they not concepts that New Yorkers needed to be taught about. If anything, his campaign shows us that people get politically activated through simple and memorable programs, rather than bureaucratic wonkery like city budgets or tax credits.

His political program is easy to recite

Speaking of simple and memorable: off the cuff I can tell you what Zohran's program is:

• Affordable city
• Office of Community Safety to open more resources for public safety than just the NYPD.
• 1 million new homes built to bring rents down
• Free buses
• City-owned grocery stores

The best thing a politician can do is actually represent people

Establishment politicians do not represent the public. The status quo gives us the same shit that's not working for us, over and over again, by definition. It's the strategic weakness of any conservative movement.

At the same time, it's fucking hard to meet people, learn about their needs and desires, and then devise a coherent set of policies around that. We've struggled to do this in the leftist groups I am in. The public is messy – full of contradictions, infighting, and opposing incentives. And leftists are too often concerned by what the worker should want (to overthrow the capitalist class), rather than what they actually want (money, safety, and security).

But somehow, Zohran has done it! His campaign has taken the messiness of the public and clarified it into something really beautiful. Can't wait to see how next Tuesday plays out!

Learn more at zohranfornyc.com and don't forget to vote! If you can