Elections are supposed to be about votes of confidence in candidates going forward, not just punishing them for past transgressions. While the past ineluctably informs expectations for the future, it should not rise to the level of the proverbial tail that wags the dog. With this in mind, The Jewish Press endorses Andrew Cuomo for mayor of the city of New York.
New York City will be facing enormous governmental, fiscal and social challenges in the next four years and we believe that the former governor, who to be sure, brings a lot of baggage to his candidacy, is without question still the best suited among the three major candidates to get his arms around them.
Indeed, in terms of experience, he has presided as governor over the state which contains New York City for more than 10 years. And by way of statistical comparison, New York State had a population of 19.87 million and budget of $212 billion during his time in office and N.Y.C. now has a population of 8.478 million and a budget of $115.9 billion for Fiscal Year 2026.
In sharp contrast, neither of the Cuomo opponents – Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa – has ever managed significant budgets or represented large populations. In fact, since 2021 Mamdani has represented the 36th District, one of 150 in the New York State Assembly with a population of 129,474 residents. And candidate Sliwa has never held elected office.
Accordingly, we see a Cuomo mayoral win as more promising than anything Curtis Sliwa or Zohran Mamdani bring to the table.
As far as the Curtis Sliwa candidacy, while he, like Cuomo, largely presents many of the themes that we favor, we see no pathway to a Sliwa victory in November, or, even if by some miracle, he manages to win, his being able to carry through on his platform. In addition, support for Sliwa would likely increase the chances of a Mamdani victory, the thwarting of which we think a moral imperative.
We think New Yorkers have much to be concerned about the prospect of a Mamdani victory. As we have noted here several times, it is telling that Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries have yet to endorse Mamdani – the Democratic candidate – despite their respective roles as Democratic leaders of the Senate and House. As national party leaders, they are guardians of the national Democratic party brand and likely deem Mamdani’s socialism to be beyond the political pale across the country.
This all the more fraught for them because as N.Y.C.-based politicians, they face possible primary challenges by Mamdani’s newly encouraged, electrified base when they themselves run for reelection.
But there is much more to the story than the politics of it. The way we see it, the election stands to be a referendum on the legitimization of Mamdani’s radical agenda. He has brilliantly harnessed his “affordability” mantra to draw the support of the growing number of New Yorkers who seek the “gimme” society, the desire for more without necessarily putting in the work.
Thus, Mamdani advocates such things as rent freezes, fare-free public transit and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.
And this is to say nothing about his calls for steep taxes on the wealthy, emasculating law enforcement and similar anti-business policies.
Of course, for us and our community, right at the top of the Mamdani concerns are his positions on Jews, the Jewish State and antisemitism. We believe his signature use of ambiguities rather than straightforward statements in answer to questions on these topics – like the need for “further dialogue,” or the “need for further information,” signal that he harbors some deep-seated animus toward us.
A victory for Mamdani would send the message that antisemitism is okay and, in light of his blasé attitude toward the Oct 7 massacre and his implicit support for Hamas generally, the wanton murder of Jews is not a big deal.
For these and similar reasons, we believe that denying Mamdani a victory in November is in society’s best interests – and particularly its Jewish segment.
And as we see it, under current circumstances, only a vote for Andrew Cuomo will do. That is, while a vote for Curtis Sliwa would not be a direct vote for Mamdani, in effect, it would inure to Mamdani’s benefit.
With Mamdani the current front runner, Cuomo needs all of the non-Mamdani votes he can get to overcome his lead. And the more those votes go to Sliwa, the less chance Cuomo will be able to do so.
However, we do not necessarily support the calls by some that Sliwa withdraw. He is the legitimate candidate of a major political party and deserves the chance to continue to compete.