Zohran Mamdani

Ugandan-American politician

Zohran Mamdani


Member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2021
Preceded by	Aravella Simotas

Personal details
Born	(1991-10-18) October 18, 1991 (age 32) Kampala, Uganda
Political party	Democratic
Education	Bowdoin College (BA)
Website	Campaign website State Assembly website

Zohran Kwame Mamdani (born October 18, 1991) is a Ugandan-born American Democratic Socialist politician. He is the assembly member for the 36th district of the New York State Assembly, in Queens. Mamdani was elected after defeating incumbent Democrat Aravella Simotas in the 2020 primary.^[1]

Early life and education

Mamdani is the son of Marxist academic Mahmood Mamdani, the director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), and filmmaker Mira Nair.^[2] Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York City when he was seven.^[3] He is a Muslim.^[4] Mamdani graduated from Bowdoin College in 2014.^[5]

Career

Mamdani worked as a cricketer and prevention counselor before running for office.^[5]

After leading student organizing campaigns, Mamdani became formally involved in politics when he volunteered for the unsuccessful campaign of New York City Council primary candidate Khader El-Yateem, a Palestinian Lutheran Democratic Socialist minister running in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in 2017, then he was the campaign manager for Ross Barkan's race for New York State Senate in 2018, and a field organizer for Democratic Socialist Tiffany Cabán's campaign for Queens District Attorney in 2019, before running for Assembly himself.^[6]^[7]

On January 29, 2021, Mamdani hosted a video for the progressive left wing Gravel Institute discussing the housing crisis in the United States.^[8]

New York Assembly

In 2019, Mamdani announced his campaign for New York State Assembly in the 36th district, which encompasses Astoria and Long Island City in Queens.^[9] During the campaign, Mamdani was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America^[10] and ran on statewide rent control, fare-free transit, and single-payer healthcare in New York.^[11] Mamdani's narrow victory over four-term incumbent Aravella Simotas took almost a month to call.^[1]

Political views

Mamdani started to consider himself a democratic socialist following the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Kaufman, Maya (2020-07-22). "Zohran Mamdani Unseats Aravella Simotas In Astoria Assembly Race". Astoria-Long Island City, NY Patch. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
^ "My son is not a firang, we are desi: Mira Nair". Hindustan Times. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
^ "About Zohran Kwame Mamdani". Zohran For Assembly. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
^ "US elections 2020: Muslim American candidates who made history". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
^ ^a ^b Tarleton, John (2020-06-19). "Home Foreclosure Specialist Aims to Take Fight For Housing & Racial Justice from Astoria to Albany". The Indypendent. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
^ ^a ^b Mamdani, Zohran; Thier, Hadas (February 9, 2021). ""We Have an Obligation to Ensure That Justice Is Not Defined by the Borders of Our District"". Jacobin. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
^ "Zohran Mamdani | New York City Campaign Finance Board".
^ How Socialists Solved A Housing Crisis. The Gravel Institute. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021 – via YouTube.
^ "NYC Primary Election 2020: Zohran Mamdani Vies For Simotas' Seat". Astoria-Long Island City, NY Patch. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
^ i_beebe (2020-06-24). "Another big night for the DSA". CSNY. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
^ "Issues". Zohran For Assembly. Retrieved 2020-07-22.