A popular cyclist and socialist who has pledged to make transit fast and free is now mayor-elect of America’s largest and most influential city. He has ushered in a new era of American politics, and he could usher in a new era of urban transportation policy that influences streets nationwide.
Zohram Mamdani’s huge win last night is also a massive victory for people who care about urbanism and healthy cities. He’s an unabashed lover of buses and bikes who isn’t afraid of taking bold positions on transportation policy and was the first mayoral candidate to receive over one million votes since 1969. Mamdani embraced cycling on the campaign trail. In one of his many viral videos, a woman yelled “Communist!” as he unlocked a Citibike from a rack during an event and he calmly snapped back, “It’s pronounced ‘cyclist’!”. And on election day Mamdani released a video where he hops in the bucket of a cargo bike for a lift to the polls.
He’s by far the most talented politician since Obama — and the fact that he came from outside the Democratic establishment (and even made a lot of mainstream Dems so nervous they didn’t endorse him), makes his accomplishment that much more impressive.
His entire platform could be boiled down to making New York City more affordable. And one of the three main pillars of that platform was to make buses “fast and free.” The discussion around free transit has split the advocacy community for years. Many people support it, but some experts and advocates say it could only happen if service was cut — and would be a pyrrhic victory. But none of those discussions was based in a reality where an extremely popular mayor was elected with a mandate to restructure the tax code in a way that jettisons scarcity framing and creates the funding needed to make good on “fast and free.”
Cars are to transportation what billionaires are to American society: We’ve been convinced by the media that the negative externalities they create are normal; there’s way more of them than we need; and the forces that maintain their dominance make life worse for the rest of us. Mamdani understands that and he’s in a historic position to shift that dynamic.
I remember in the 2010s when New York City transformed its car-choked streets into carfree plazas, express bus lanes, and protected bike lanes under the leadership of former DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. The projects she pushed forward inspired cities across the country to see streets differently. If Mamdani finds the right DOT commissioner (some folks are dreaming of a JSK comeback), New York City could continue this exciting urban evolution.
I’ve always liked to say that it takes more than winning an election to make change. You must also be connected to community, because the people are where the power lies. Mamdani — and his million supporters — understand that.
Mamdani’s ride into City Hall has sparked joy and hope among transportation reformers far beyond the five boroughs. Welcome to the new era of American politics. It’s going to be a wild ride.