Five key takeaways from the New York City mayoral debate

With less than three weeks before the New York City mayoral race, the three leading candidates have squared off in the first of two televised debates.

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani continues to enjoy a commanding lead in the polls, but the two-hour-long face-off on Thursday provided an opportunity for his rivals to make their case – and attempt to close the gap.

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa levelled familiar lines of attack against the 34-year-old Mamdani, an assemblyman who emerged as a breakout star in the Democratic Party.

While the contest is a municipal one, it carries national – if not international – implications.

Mamdani’s resounding primary victory in June against Cuomo sent shockwaves across the United States. It marked a high-profile victory for progressive Democrats as the party searches for new direction, following a trouncing in the 2024 general election.

It also represented a boost for pro-Palestine politics in the US. Mamdani is a vocal critic of Israel and its assault on Gaza, something many mainstream Democrats have been hesitant to speak out about.

That made him a potent contrast to Cuomo, who relaunched his candidacy as an independent following his primary loss.

Cuomo, once a household name in politics, had signed up last year to be part of the legal team defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against war crime charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Much of Thursday’s debate circled around the Mamdani-Cuomo rivalry and their different visions for the city.

The third candidate on the debate stage, Sliwa, struggled for airtime amid their harsh exchanges, leading him to describe the scene at one point as a “spat in the school yard”.

The election will take place on November 4. Here are five key takeaways from Thursday’s debate:

Israel-Palestine takes centre stage

Israel and Palestine are not part of New York City’s five boroughs, but Israel’s war on Gaza was among the earliest issues raised in the debate. And it kept resurfacing throughout the night.

Mamdani was asked about his comments to Fox News on Wednesday, where he did not take a clear position on calls for Hamas to disarm.

“Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms,” Mamdani said of Hamas.

“I’m proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire. And calling for a ceasefire … means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons.”

The Democratic nominee also stressed the need for addressing the root causes of the conflict: Israel’s siege, occupation and system of apartheid in the Palestinian territories.

The United Nations and the International Court of Justice have both declared that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal.

Cuomo, sounding increasingly indignant, levelled unfounded accusations at Mamdani, claiming his criticisms of Israeli abuses were tantamount to an attack on the existence of the Israeli state.

“The assemblyman just said in his response, ‘Well, it depends on occupation,’” Cuomo replied, in a section of the debate about maintaining peace in the Middle East. “That is code, meaning that Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state.”

Mamdani shot back by highlighting Cuomo’s ties to Netanyahu, a fugitive from international justice. The ICC issued a warrant for the Israeli leader’s arrest last year.

“The occupation is a reference to international law and the violation of it, which Mr Cuomo has no regard for since he signed up to be on Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal defence team during the course of this genocide,” Mamdani said.

Cuomo also tried to vilify Mamdani for not condemning the slogan “globalise the intifada” – a phrase some advocates use to call for international solidarity with the Palestinians’ struggle.

Intifada means uprising in Arabic. It is also the name given to two Palestinian revolts in the late 1980s and 2000s, which saw peaceful protests as well as violent attacks against Israelis.

“He still won’t denounce ‘globalise the Intifada’, which means kill all Jews,” Cuomo claimed.

Mamdani, meanwhile, said he has listened to Jewish New Yorkers who associate the phrase with suicide bombings against Israelis during the second Intifada, and he has since discouraged its use.

While Mamdani’s relationship with New York’s Jewish community has been a subject of media scrutiny throughout the campaign, the city is also home to the country’s largest Muslim population.

One of Thursday’s debate moderators asked Cuomo about his ties with the Muslim community. They noted that the former governor had called Mamdani, who is Muslim, a “terrorist sympathiser”.

Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment, replied that he views Mamdani as “totally separate” from the Muslim community.

“I don’t think in any way the assemblyman is representative of the Muslim community, which is a vital community in New York City,” Cuomo said, adding that he was “very fond of” Muslims.

“I think he’s playing his own politics,” the ex-governor continued. “Many of his positions don’t even follow the Muslim faith.”

Mamdani retorted that it took being beaten by a Muslim candidate in the primaries for Cuomo to visit a mosque. Cuomo visited a New York City mosque for the first time during his campaign last month.

“What Muslims want in this city is what every community wants and deserves. They want equality, and they want respect,” the assemblyman said. “And it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city, and that, frankly, is something that is shameful.”

Cuomo comes after Mamdani on experience

Cuomo’s opening attack on Mamdani was that the 34-year-old lacks the experience to lead the most populous city in the US, home to 8.4 million people.

He cited his own experience running the state for a decade and serving as Housing and Urban Development secretary under former President Bill Clinton.

“This is no job for on-the-job training. And if you look at the failed mayors, they’re ones that have no management experience. Don’t do it again,” Cuomo, 67, said, questioning whether Mamdani could guide the city through a pandemic or hurricane.

In an attempt to undercut that argument, Mamdani enumerated his achievements as a state legislator, including securing funding for a free bus programme in the city. Then, he went on the attack.

“If we have a health pandemic, then why would New Yorkers turn back to the governor who sent seniors to their death in nursing homes?” Mamdani said.

A 2021 report by New York Attorney General Letitia James found that Cuomo’s office undercounted deaths at nursing homes during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity,” Mamdani told Cuomo. “And what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for with experience.”

Trump, Trump, Trump

Looming over the debate was the spectre of President Donald Trump, who has threatened to cut off federal funding to New York and send military troops to the city.

All three candidates said that there is no need for a National Guard deployment in New York.

Trump, who is from New York, has all but endorsed Cuomo, despite frequently clashing with the then-Democrat during the COVID pandemic. The Republican president has called on Cuomo to stay in the race and declined to back the Republican candidate, Sliwa.

He has also been frequently attacking Mamdani, calling him a “little communist”. As recently as this week, Trump implied continued federal funds for New York City hinged on Mamdani’s loss in the mayoral race.

Nevertheless, Mamdani told the debate moderators on Thursday he would cooperate with Trump – but also stand up to him, if necessary.

“I would make it clear to the president that I am willing to not only speak to him, but to work with him if it means delivering on lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.

“That’s something that he ran his presidential campaign on, and yet, all he’s been able to deliver thus far has been prosecuting his political enemies and trying to enact the largest deportation programme in American history.”

The assemblyman also hit out at Cuomo for being backed by some of Trump’s top donors, including hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has donated $500,000 to a group supporting the former governor’s candidacy.

“I’m not funded by the same donors that gave us Donald Trump’s second term, which isn’t something that Andrew Cuomo can say,” Mamdani said.

Cuomo suggested that Trump donors are backing him because of Mamdani’s views on the genocide in Gaza.

“There are a lot of New Yorkers who support me, and there are a lot of Jewish New Yorkers who support me because they think you’re anti-Semitic,” the former governor told Mamdani. “So it’s not about Trump or Republicans. It’s about you.”

Mamdani lays out views on police, outlines how he will pay for plans

Both Cuomo and Sliwa confronted Mamdani over questions of public safety. They pointed to comments Mamdani made in 2020, describing the New York Police Department (NYPD) as “racist” and calling for its defunding.

In response, the frontrunner reiterated his apology about the 2020 statements, which were made in the wake of the brutal killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis.

Mamdani said that, over the last five years, he learned that justice, accountability and public safety are all important and interconnected.

“That means leading a city where you recognise the bravery of the men and women who join the NYPD and put their lives on the line,” he said.

“It means representing the Muslims who are illegally surveilled in my district and the Black and brown New Yorkers who have been victims of police brutality.”

His plans to beef up public safety, he explained, include establishing a specialised unit to respond to calls about mental health crises.

Mamdani was also quizzed about how he would pay for his ambitious campaign promises, including free buses and childcare in the city.

He said his plans would be funded by raising taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent of New Yorkers by 2 percent and increasing corporate tax rates in the city.

More broadly, Mamdani expressed optimism about his ability to pursue big projects. He cited his unlikely primary victory in June, the turning point of a race that began with him polling at less than 2 percent.

“A lot of people have called even my campaign a non-starter when we first began, and now I stand before you proud to be the Democratic nominee who got the most votes in city primary history,” he said.

Source: Aljazeera