Policy / February 5, 2026
Exclusive: New York City Mayor Explains Why He Supports New York Governor in 2026 Election
Zohran Mamdani and Kathy Hochul at a rally in Queens on October 26, 2025.
(Anthony Behar/Sipa via AP) “The era of empty promises is ending. »
This is the vision that motivated our mayoral campaign. This is the foundation of my administration. That’s also what Gov. Kathy Hochul said as we celebrated a deal to provide universal child care, one of the largest expansions of the social safety net in our city’s history.
This is as significant a political victory as our movement has seen in some time. A burden of more than $22,500 lifted, the difference between whether or not a family can stay in the city they love with the children they want to raise. This was made possible by the nearly 100,000 volunteers who spoke to millions of New Yorkers at their doorsteps. But this would not have happened, just eight days into our administration, without Governor Hochul deciding to provide more than $1 billion in state funding.
We won this historic victory together. Together, we fought to protect New Yorkers from ICE. Together, we defended our party, our democracy, and the ability of working New Yorkers to raise families in the city they love. And together, we forged a new era in Albany’s relationship with City Hall after too many years defined by pettiness rather than productivity. In times of crisis, we chose a different path. We have respected everyone’s views and are committed to the idea that government should and must work, even when it is difficult.
The governor and I don’t agree on everything. We have real differences, particularly with regard to the taxation of the richest, at a time marked by profound income inequalities. I still believe that the richest among us can afford to pay a little more.
But for too long, our politics have been defined by a familiar cycle: big promises, hard fighting, and little tangible progress. This stagnation has had harmful consequences. People are struggling to afford childcare, housing and public transportation. They are tired of being told to wait while they are crushed by an affordability crisis that is driving out the very people who built this city. And they are rightly demanding change.
Current number
Those of us who have received the sacred oath of service must heed this calling and work together to honor it. This does not require the absence of disagreement but the presence of trust. We must be able to honestly disagree while still meeting the needs of the people we serve. Over the past six months, Governor Hochul and I have done just that.
This experience is important because the challenges ahead are real. New York City faces fiscal challenges, a raging affordability crisis, and an urgent need for government action. The temptation is to let difference turn into distrust. But over the course of our relationship, I have come to trust Governor Hochul as someone willing to engage in honest dialogue that leads to results. As we face threats from Washington, she has defended our social safety net and protected funding for critical infrastructure projects.
At its best, the Democratic Party has been a big tent not because it avoids conflict, but because it channels conflict toward progress. A party united not by conformity but by a commitment to structural change – and the work required to achieve it. I’ve seen a model of what that can look like in my work with Governor Hochul: a relationship built on candor, a shared commitment to a government that is equal parts competent and trustworthy, and results that workers can feel in their everyday lives.
The success of our movement will be defined by the success of our government.
New Yorkers deserve leaders who believe in transformation. Leaders who understand that hope is inspired by vision and sustained by change. Governor Kathy Hochul has earned my support because she chooses to govern with this in mind. And right now, that choice matters.
Your support makes stories like this possible From Minneapolis to Venezuela, from Gaza to Washington, DC, we live in a time of staggering chaos, cruelty and violence.
Unlike other publications that reproduce the opinions of authoritarians, billionaires and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful accountable and center communities too often denied voice in national media – stories like the one you just read.
Every day, our journalism weeds out lies and distortions, contextualizes developments that are reshaping politics around the world, and advances progressive ideas that fuel our movements and incite change in the halls of power.
This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you would like more urgent coverage like this, please donate to The Nation Today.
Zohran Mamdani Zohran Mamdani is the 112th mayor of New York.