Jim Geraghty of National Review Online explains why New York City’s new socialist mayor ought to pay attention to recent developments involving Minnesota’s outgoing governor.
On paper, incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and outgoing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz don’t have much in common beyond being Democratic elected officials. But Walz, who announced yesterday that he was ending his campaign for a third term, has enjoyed the title Mamdani is enjoying right now — the status of being the Next Big Thing™ in Democratic Party politics. And the fact that it all came crashing down for Walz is a warning to the new mayor. …
… Before January 1, the biggest thing that the 34-year-old Mamdani had ever run was a state assembly office and his own campaign. The New York State Assembly meets for 61 days per year in its legislative session, and the state pays assemblymen $142,000. Mamdani ran for reelection unopposed in 2022 and 2024. …
… It is possible that a year from now, Mamdani will indeed be widely seen as the radical revolutionary that his critics feared he would be, enacting policies that turn the city’s economic, legal, and political establishments upside down and alter the city permanently.
But it is just as likely that a year or two from now, Mamdani will be seen by his socialist or communist fan base as a giant disappointment, too easily distracted by the opportunity to weigh in on national and international issues and something of a dilettante, unprepared for the day-to-day work of running the city government. …
… Walz’s office had a terrible record of keeping track of everything from receipts, timesheets, holiday, leave payments, inventory, reimbursements to employees and payments to vendors, and purchasing cards. Now, some might argue that stuff isn’t that important, but if you’re a governor, one of the few things you can absolutely control is how your own office operates. …
… Tim Walz and his top staff literally couldn’t take care of the basics, the sort of thing you probably do on a regular basis in your job.
