Last night, I sat in front of my computer with tears in my eyes. They were tears of joy. I was born in New York. I lived the first 20+ years of my life there. So, even though I no longer live there or in the United States anymore, to see this city that I love do the right thing in these very dark times was deeply moving to say the least.

NYC voted for a man who stands outside the Democratic Party elite. A man who espouses values that align with most ordinary people. That living on this planet should not bankrupt a person. That healthcare and housing and education are human rights. That the wealthy should pay their fair share. That genocide is wrong and the criminals who commit these crimes should be arrested and tried.

Despite endless and baseless smears and racist taunts, much of which came from notorious misogynist and senior citizen-killer, Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani prevailed. Despite the efforts of celebrities like Debra Messing who spread horrendous Islamophobic lies, Mamdani prevailed (one wonders if she is okay today, or if she has fled to Tel Aviv on the first El Al flight out of Kennedy). Despite millions of dollars being spent by parasitic billionaires like Michael Bloomberg, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, Mamdani prevailed. Despite threats from the fascist, wannabe king in the White House, Mamdani prevailed.

Will Mamdani be able to implement all of the policies he would like to? Probably not. NYC is still deeply capitalist. Its 1% are entrenched, have enormous influence and own much of the media. But despite their empty threats, they aren’t leaving New York after this historic victory. And this win sends a clear message to them that the people of this city are fed up with the soul crushing, life destroying status quo.

Mamdani quoted the late Eugene Debs in his victory speech. Debs, who was born in 1855 and died in 1926, was an American socialist, trade unionist and one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World. He ran five times for President under the Socialist Party of America. That Mamdani chose him is extraordinary for these times. His words go far beyond the sickening bromides and empty platitudes of most politicians.

Mamdani said:

”The sun may have set over our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said, “I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”

For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands. Fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor, palms calloused from delivery bike handlebars, knuckles scarred with kitchen burns. These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power. And yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater.

Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. The future is in our hands. My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.

I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life, but let tonight be the final time I utter his name as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few.

Now I know that many have heard our message only through the prism of misinformation. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent to redefine reality and to convince our neighbors that this new age is something that should frighten them. As has so often occurred, the billionaire class has sought to convince those making $30 an hour that their enemies are those earning $20 an hour. They want the people to fight amongst ourselves so that we remain distracted from the work of remaking a long-broken system. We refuse to let them dictate the rules of the game anymore. They can play by the same rules as the rest of us.

In this new age we make for ourselves, we will refuse to allow those who traffic in division and hate to pit us against one another. In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light. Here we believe in standing up for those we love, whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many Black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall—your struggle is ours too.

Together, we will usher in a generation of change. And if we embrace this brave new course, rather than fleeing from it, we can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.

And we must chart a new path as bold as the one we have already traveled. After all, the conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.

Mamdani’s victory will undoubtedly be met with more threats or even actions by the fascist Trump regime. And the corporate beholden, Democratic Party elite will likely try to thwart any meaningful gains of this moment. But Mamdani’s win should be celebrated by every ordinary person today. Because even though we are in dark times, some light has managed to find its way through the cracks.

Be happy about that today, because we all deserve it.

Kenn Orfanos, November 2025