Mamdani and Lander Combined Two Strands of Progressive Politics

[justaprogressive]

Last edited Mon Jun 30, 2025, 06:18 PM - Edit history (1)

In the immediate aftermath of Zohran Mamdani’s shocking upset in the Democratic mayoral primary, there was a thirst for more fresh blood, more primary challenges, and one man’s name came up over and over again: New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Should he challenge Rep. Dan Goldman in Manhattan? Should he wait until 2028 and go for Chuck Schumer? Lander’s cross-endorsement and passionate support for Mamdani at the end of the race was earning him credibility to become the next dragonslayer in New York politics.

I don’t expect everyone to read the Prospect (though you should), but we actually reported on Lander’s next job, should Mamdani vanquish every billionaire puppet that the city’s elite will throw up against him in the general election. “The word on the street is that if Mamdani wins, he will appoint Lander first deputy mayor, the equivalent to the city’s chief operating officer,” wrote Robert Kuttner on June 16. I have since gotten soft confirmation of this—Lander pretty much said it himself in an interview—and while nobody wants to make things too explicit with more than four months before the general election, I think that this is pretty much expected at this point.

That could be perhaps the greatest achievement to come out of last week’s primary victory. For a decade, the progressive left has had separate factions, one gravitating to bold ideas and another to the block-and-tackle work required to manifest them. Mamdani and Lander appear to have fused the two, recognizing both that the delivery of tangible improvements for people is how you build trust in a party that has too often toxified itself with broken promises, and that you can’t offer people warm gruel and expect them to treat it like caviar. Finding policies that people are enthusiastic about is a critical part of politics, and so is getting those policies enacted.

To simplify wildly, Mamdani has brought together the Sanders and Warren wings of the party, something that could have happened much sooner but didn’t. Both are vital for success, and if Mamdani pulls it off, it’s a model that even the establishment could, and should, adopt.

I was in Washington in the immediate aftermath of Mamdani’s victory, and in talking to people I saw elation, undoubtedly, but also a certain ineffable guardedness. Inevitably the conversation would turn to Lander, and how people just knew him far more. Lander was active in the Local Progress network, which identifies and mentors local lawmakers, many of whom do eventually end up in Congress.

https://prospect.org/politics/2025-06-26-zorhan-mamdami-brad-lander-new-york-mayoral/

[Deep State Witch]

1. It Takes 2 Kinds of People

To bring about change. You have the "ideas" person and the person that figures out how to do it. Obama and Biden, for example. Obama had this crazy notion that everyone in America should have access to health care. Biden was the one who spearheaded the effort to make it happen. It looks like it's the same kind of pairing with Mamdani and Lander.