Mayoral Debate

The first debate for the upcoming New York City’s mayoral election was held last week on October 16th, 2025. Here is a short recap of what I thought was important, or particularly interesting:

The “Winner”- Debates are subjective, so it is hard to really declare one candidate’s victory, despite all three declaring so. However, the general consensus has been that Zohran Mamdani, the democratic nominee, was able to emerge on top. He began the debate as the frontrunner for the race, meaning he was able to maintain this position simply by not having major mistakes or slip-ups.

It was more crucial for the other two candidates, Andrew Cuomo (Independent) and Curtis Sliwa (Republican), to land attacks and obtain breakout moments– something that did not really happen. A large percent of the criticisms during the debate seemed targeted towards Cuomo, which meant he spent a majority of his time on the defense.

The Issues- In a city suffering from a housing shortage and rising costs, affordability is voters’ primary concern, which was reflected in the amount of time spent discussing it. Public safety, Israel, and the question of qualifications were also brought up. Donald Trump’s name, nearly impossible to ignore in politics these days, was also mentioned several times. The candidates were asked how they would work with the President, a crucial question for one of the nation’s most important cities, one that has often been the target of Trump’s ire.

Looking Forward- The next debate will be this Wednesday, October 22^nd, 2025, at 7 pm est. The fast-upcoming election will be on November 4th, 2025 a little more than 2 weeks from now.

To end this post off, I would like to put my favorite moment of the night below, said by Zohran Mondani in response to Andrew Cuomo:

“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity,” Mr. Mamdani said. “And what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience.”

As a gen-z teenager, I would have to admit that one sticks with me the most, as a reflection of the rising generation in politics during these next few years.