His campaign has been based on promising socialistic benefits for New Yorkers and by appealing to his younger constituents. Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is a New York State Assemblyman and a Democratic Socialist. His platform has been simple: "New York is too expensive. Zohran will lower costs and make life easier."
The policy changes needed to implement Mamdani's campaign promises, however, are not so simple, and certainly not what Mamdani proposes. Mamdani laid out his plans to solve 'food deserts' in New York City on TikTok.
"As mayor, I will create a network of city-owned grocery stores," said Mamdani. "It's like a public option for produce. We will redirect city funds from corporate supermarkets to city-owned grocery stores, whose mission is lower prices, not price gouging."
Mamdani went on, claiming, "These stores will operate without a profit motive, or having to pay property taxes or rent, and will pass on those savings to you," referencing the viewer.
Mamdani never mentioned who would pay for the buildings, products, or labor, avoiding the obvious fact that taxpayers would be on the hook. The Heritage Foundation's Chief Economist and Townhall Columnist, EJ Antoni explains, "Socialist price controls are great at producing two things: shortages of things you want and surpluses of things you don’t. If you force grocery stores to price food at unprofitable levels, then the stores will stop selling that food—you can’t force a business to lose money."
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“If we want to bring these New Yorkers back to the Democratic Party, then we have to show them that we’re serious about making their life more affordable,” said Mamdani in December 2024 in reference to his plan to build five municipal grocery stores - one in each borough.
In Chicago, research on the viability of state-run grocery stores is already underway. Under the direction of Mayor Brandon Johnson, a progressive Democrat, a 105-page feasibility study set out to determine whether the idea is “necessary, feasible and implementable.” The city could potentially subsidize the grocery stores through discounted rent, direct funding, and by waiving utility fees. Establishing three Chicago stores, even with these subsidies, is estimated to cost $26 million for the initial stages of the program.
The Chicago Tribune published a withering op-ed Monday titled "Want to know how a socialist mayor would govern New York City? Ask Chicago." The piece compared the potential election of Zohran Mamdani with the political career of progressive Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took office in 2023.
“A familiar dilemma: a moderate, business-friendly Democrat versus a democratic socialist," said the piece attributed to the Tribune's Editorial Board. "New Yorkers, take it from Chicago — we’ve seen this movie before, and the ending isn’t pretty."
The warning from the Chicago Tribune was published Monday, just one day before the primary elections are set to take place. “If New Yorkers are frustrated with Mayor Eric Adams," wrote the Editorial Board. "They should be careful not to trade him for someone who might preside over a city that is less competitive and less financially secure. Trust us—we’re living that reality.”
That reality often begins with fantastical economic promises like those made by Mamdani.
Today, Democrats will choose whether New York City becomes a socialist dump.
— Daniel Di Martino 🇺🇸🇻🇪 (@DanielDiMartino) June 24, 2025
Such was the choice for Venezuelans in 1998 when voters picked Chávez over the status quo. Now everyone says "We were rich but we didn't know it."
You are rich and you don't know it. Don't mess it up. pic.twitter.com/SOcu9OFOmu
Daniel Di Martino founded the Dissident Project, which connects American high schoolers with survivors of tyrannical regimes. Di Martino, an expatriate of Venezuela, is outspoken in his stance that socialist policies lead to government tyranny and the suffering of the people.
Di Martino came to the United States in 2016 as a student. He has since criticized liberal American politicians for praising "the same kind of policies that produced famine, mass exodus, and soaring inflation in Venezuela." Historically, government control over food distribution has consistently led to government overreach into the lives of consumers.
Some of Mamdani's other campaign promises include freezing the rent for New Yorkers in rent-stabilized apartments, enabling free public transit, and providing no-cost childcare to every New Yorker between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years. He promises, if elected, to "bring up wages for childcare workers... to be at parity with public school teachers."
Mamdani also plans to create a new agency of city government called the "Department of Community Safety." He said the goal of his new agency would be "to prevent violence before it happens by prioritizing solutions which have been consistently shown to improve safety."
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