Mamdani could redefine American politics

[Tom Rinaldo]

Not by getting elected Mayor of NYC, though that will be an eye opener if he does. It's how well he does AFTER he is in office that offers a chance to alter the American political landscape.We have had had a relative handful of high profile highly progressive legislators in office before. Bernie Sanders and AOC jump immediately to mind. Legislators do not get credit for actually running anything beyond the committees they may chair. AOC got her start in politics by emerging herself in Bernie's 2016 Presidential run, but Bernie's political career first gained traction when he became Mayor of Vermont's largest city in 1981. It ultimately became his springboard into national politics,, but only because he did a really GOOD JOB as Mayor. a position he was elected to four times.

A Mayor by definition is a Chief Executive who runs his or her own administration. Sanders pointed to his record as Mayor of Burlington when he ran State wide in Vermont for Congress (Vermont only has one Congressional district.) His achievements as Mayor spoke louder than political labels. Sanders didn't win his congressional seat because he called himself a democratic socialist. He did so because he defined through his accomplishments what being a democratic socialist meant.

While Burlington may be the largest city in Vermont it is not thought of as a major American city and what happens there is little noticed by most voters nationwide. The opposite could not be more true for New York City. A national spot light is likely to soon settle on Zohran Mamdani. Should he succeed as Mayor, he may well redefine democratic socialism for tens of millions of Americans And he'll have the receipts to prove it.