Albany’s ‘3 people in a room’ are all with Zohran Mamdani

Capping off a week of significant endorsements, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani will rally with state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins Friday afternoon, Mamdani’s campaign told City & State. The joint appearance will give the mayoral front-runner yet another occasion to highlight the priorities he shares in common with the three people who he needs to accomplish his agenda in Albany.

Stewart-Cousins announced her support for Mamdani in the general election on July 1, but Friday marks her first appearance on the campaign trail with the nominee.

“His bold vision and determination to build a city that works for everyone are exactly the leadership we need at City Hall, and I am confident he will deliver a more affordable, just, and hopeful future for all New Yorkers,” Stewart-Cousins said in a statement shared by the Mamdani campaign. 

The state legislative leader was the first of the so-called “three people in a room” (formerly “three men in a room”) who wield power in Albany to endorse Mamdani after his primary win. Joining her this week were her two counterparts Gov. Kathy Hochul and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

To Mamdani’s campaign, these endorsements represent a key trifecta for accomplishing his agenda, much of which is dependent on action in Albany. That includes securing the funding necessary to fulfill promises like making buses free and creating universal child care. “All three top leaders of New York State government have joined our movement and demonstrated that the agenda we’re fighting for is not only popular, it’s possible,” campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement. “Together, we’re going to protect our neighbors from Donald Trump’s authoritarianism and deliver a city New Yorkers can afford to call home.”

But not all endorsements are created equal – at least when it comes to what follows the November election. In her endorsement, spelled out in a New York Times op-ed, Hochul noted that she’s aligned with Mamdani’s laser focus on affordability, and found in him the “courage, urgency and optimism New York City needs to lead it through the challenges of this moment.” Still, Hochul wrote that she “didn’t leave my conversations with him aligned on every issue.” 

A key part of Mamdani’s platform requires raising taxes on the wealthy, which Hochul has historically opposed. Next year, she’ll be battling for her own reelection and taking heat from both ends of the political spectrum. (Her Republican opposition slammed the “send” button on a chorus of statements denouncing her endorsement of Mamdani within minutes of its release.)

All to say, Mamdani’s first “Tin Cup Day” in Albany won’t necessarily be a cake walk.

But Mamdani’s campaign is buoyed by Heastie’s full-throated embrace of key planks of his campaign including taxing the rich, free buses and universal child care. “A millionaire’s tax polls extremely well,” Heastie said, when asked during an appearance with Mamdani on Wednesday about whether the state can pass a millionaire’s tax or corporate tax increase in an election year. He predicted there will be a “robust” discussion of raising taxes on the wealthy next session.

One piece of bad news for Mamdani? Those three endorsements directly translate to just one vote in November’s election. Despite what Mayor Eric Adams says, Hochul and Stewart-Cousins aren’t New York City residents so they won’t be filling out a ballot.