Mayor Mamdani Knows Your Name.
- Natasha Teiman
- Nov 5
- 3 min read
In a political landscape where it seems the head demon in charge has unchecked power to tear everything apart, Zohran Mamdani stands as a bright beacon of what a leader can be.
I had the incredible pleasure of meeting Mr. Mamdani - on a first date of all things - and somehow ran into each other twice in the same night. The second time, after only a two-minute conversation earlier, he remembered my name and the magazine I worked for. That moment has stayed with me because it revealed exactly who he is — both as a man and as a leader. The most incredible thing about his campaign is the way he constantly supports the overlooked, the frequently ignored, the forgotten. No person is “little” to him.
He’s in bodegas, he’s talking to taxi drivers, he’s on Gaydar - I genuinely don’t know when he sleeps. But somehow he’s everywhere - single-handedly connecting with every single niche community in one of the most diverse cities in the world. His grassroots, on-the-ground campaign is proof that democracy still has a pulse.
Zohran for NYC reports hundreds of multilingual volunteers speaking to thousands of New Yorkers every day for months on end. Mamdani started with very minimal name recognition, but he put himself out there - knocking on doors, attending community events, religious spaces, small businesses - going anywhere and talking to everyone, leading to his endorsement by huge NYC institutions like the New York Working Families Party and the New York City Central Labor Council. His artistic background (please go listen to his rap discography if you haven’t), striking visual branding, and investment in influencer culture helped him cut through political noise.
He’s reigniting political energy among Gen Z — a generation that has consistently lacked interest in politics and voting because no politician ever seems to have any real interest in us.
Zohran’s win is not just a victory for him or us - it’s a victory of the American Dream itself. Having emigrated to the U.S. at seven, Mamdani becoming mayor of New York City is living proof that the American Dream still exists today. That belief, that anyone, regardless of their background, can achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and opportunity, isn’t a faded ideal. It’s alive in America today, and Mamdani’s story embodies it.
It’s not that everything is magically fixed, however. Zohran is an outlier - there are still millions of Americans incarcerated, discriminated, and oppressed because of whatever box they do or do not check. That’s exactly why his rise matters.
It’s not that we ever gave up hope in America; it’s that our hope now has legs to stand on. It is my greatest hope that people have grown tired of being overlooked and cast aside by the current administration, which appears to prioritize extending and preserving its own wealth and power. Let Zohran’s win be the ignition of a fire that sweeps the nation - a reminder that We The People still have the power.
May we see through lies and manipulation of the media, stand together as one against what is objectively inhumane, and let no government ever have the power to take away our value of life again.