The statement win by New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary election to become New York City’s mayor on Tuesday (June 24) has captured the attention of the country. And its raised alarms for high-level business executives, who are now meeting to craft a plan to thwart his potentially winning the mayoral race in November.
According to reports, business owners in the city incuding hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb met with New York City Mayor Eric Adams to discuss how to stop Mamdani and to talk about Adams’ own re-election campaign as an independent candidate. Sources noted that the businessmen were impressed with Adams’ comments about Mamdani the morning after the initial results of the primary came in. The incumbent mayor called Mamdani a “snake oil salesman” in his criticisms while appearing on Fox & Friends.
The business owners expressed concerns about Mamdani’s campaign platform, specifically pointing to his ideas of levying more taxes on corporations to provide funding for other elements he would put in place as mayor. “You want to have leadership that speaks to what New York is,” said prominent landlord Scott Rechler . “It’s the capital of capitalism.” Another attendee of the meeting was former hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson, who ran against Mamdani in the Democratic primary. In a text message to the New York Times, Tilson called him “totally unqualified to be mayor of one of the world’s largest, most complex cities” and a “Trojan horse” for “the extremist, dangerous ideology of the Democratic Socialists of America.”
Zohran Mamdani’s primary win puts the mayoral race in a new light after his defeat of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, who the group reportedly felt ran a “low-energy” campaign, hasn’t yet decided to run as an independent in November. Adams registered to run on an independent basis, and is perceived as more of a deterrent to Mamdani’s victory than the presumptive Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa.
GOP megadonor John Catsimatidis is expressing support for Adams. “The only people who are going to help Eric Adams is Washington, whether it’s (border czar) Tom Homan, whether it’s Donald Trump,” the Gristedes grocery chain store owner said. “And Tom and Donald Trump want a safe New York.” Sliwa, however, is adamant that he won’t drop out. “I’m not getting out of this race unless they figure out a way to put me in a pine box and bury me six feet under,” he said.
Ops At Work?: Biz Execs Plot To Stop Mamdani’s NYC Mayoral Rise Via Mixxy Mayor
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