Why hasn’t Zohran Mamdani taken a position on the ballot proposals?

Early voting has already begun, and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has been evasive about where he stands on a series of questions on the ballot. “I'm appreciative that those measures will be on the ballot and that New Yorkers will be able to cast their votes for them,” he said at the second mayoral debate last week, drawing jeers from his opponents Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. When pressed since, he’s continued to decline to take a position, and he’s taken some heat for it – though he has said he intends to come out with one soon.

Several of the proposals, crafted by a Charter Revision Commission convened by Mayor Eric Adams, would benefit Mamdani if they pass and if he becomes the next mayor. Two would expedite development for some affordable housing projects and shift some of the City Council’s power over the approval process to mayoral appointees. Another would create a three-person appeals board consisting of the mayor, the City Council speaker and the local borough president with the power to reverse City Council decisions to reject affordable housing projects. Together, the three proposals could go a long way in helping Mamdani deliver his housing agenda, including his proposal to build 200,000 new affordable homes over ten years. Another ballot measure would take steps to move elections to even years to align with the federal election calendar, possibly lengthening the amount of time Mamdani could stay in office. So why not support them?

With allies on both sides of the debate, Mamdani is in a politically precarious position. The City Council has launched a public education campaign against the proposals, warning that the measures would take away communities’ power in favor of developers. (Some members’ positions vary slightly and some haven’t taken a public stance.) The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, building workers union 32BJ SEIU – both of which endorsed Mamdani in the general election – and the District Council of Carpenters rallied against the proposals with City Council leadership earlier this month. Union leaders have largely argued that if implemented, the changes would make it harder for workers to negotiate advantageous deals with developers.

At the same time, some of Mamdani’s allies are among the proposals’ most vocal supporters. Comptroller Brad Lander has been a vocal advocate, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has endorsed them. The pro-housing group Abundance New York, which has been promoting the proposals, has endorsed Mamdani, and another pro-housing group, Open New York, plans to recommend him in their voting guide Monday. Polling has showed that the housing-related measures are likely to pass.

The race for New York City Council speaker is a major factor that makes the issue tricky for Mamdani. It’s a sprawling deal being hashed out among members of Congress, labor unions, county machines, members themselves – and often the incoming mayor. The speaker sets the council’s agenda and can be a major obstacle to the mayor if they are not aligned. If Mamdani wants to have any influence there, he has to tread carefully with the City Council members who will elect that leader. Crystal Hudson and Amanda Farías, council members vying to be the next speaker, were among the members present at the rally opposing the proposals earlier this month. “You can’t like, punch somebody in the face and then ask them for something,” said one source in council leadership. “Everything is give and take in the realm of political influence, and as much as people have tried to camouflage this conversation to be about housing, it’s not. It’s about power and changing where power sits.” 

Mamdani has pushed back on assertions that the City Council is to blame for his apprehension, saying the proposals are complex and he’s concerned about implications for labor. “The reason I have not come to a decision is because I haven’t come to a decision, not because of who I’m looking to placate,” he told PIX11 News’ Dan Mannarino in an interview released Friday. He’s repeatedly said that he’s having conversations with supporters and opponents. Mamdani’s fellow candidates have already staked out their positions. Sliwa is ardently opposed. Cuomo supports them.

“Either way he goes, he's going to get in trouble,” said City Council Member Bob Holden, who was willing to talk on the record likely because he both opposes the measures and is term-limited at the end of the year. “It just shows you what he's made of. I think that he's going to be that type of politician. He’s going to be no different than any other one.”

Though Mamdani hasn’t committed, a close housing ally has. “I’m planning to vote yes on the (three housing-related) ballot measures,” Cea Weaver, a longtime tenant organizer and a housing policy adviser to Mamdani, recently told journalist Ben Max on the Max Politics podcast. “I understand the concerns that are coming from some of the council and I hope that Mayor Mamdani can ensure that all neighborhoods get the investment that they need to serve their people.”

(Housing Justice for All and New York State Tenant Bloc, organizations Weaver leads, have not yet taken a position on the proposals.)

Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the Working Families Party, defended Mamdani’s response in the debate. “I wasn't surprised to hear Zohran say he wasn't taking a position, because we are in a similar place where we're not,” she said of the lefty third-party. “I think he's focusing on his campaign, which is his top priority, and not on something that's quite divisive amongst the ecosystem.”

Gripper added that she doesn’t necessarily think Mamdani needs to take a position. “I think if he was mayor, I would expect more leadership, but this was a (charter revision) commission put together by Eric Adams,” she said.