AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

We end today’s show here in New York, where the city’s mayor, Eric Adams, is continuing to resist calls to resign after being indicted on federal corruption charges. In recent weeks, at least seven senior city officials have also resigned, leaving the city government in a state of crisis. This comes a year before New Yorkers will vote to pick the next city’s mayor. Adams has vowed to run for reelection, but opponents, including fellow Democrats, are lining up to run against him.

We’re joined now by New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who is just announcing he’s joining the race. He is a Ugandan-born Democratic Socialist who was elected to the New York State Assembly four years ago.

In fact, very interesting, because in the last year also, you have an interesting record — actually, arrest record. You’ve been arrested twice, right?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Yes, in the last year.

AMY GOODMAN: First time, you were arrested in front of Senator Charles Schumer’s house?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Protesting?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I was protesting the response, the Israeli military’s military assault on Gaza. This was about a week after October 7th, and we were already seeing war crimes multiplying by the day. And I was protesting alongside Jewish New Yorkers to say, “Do not let their pain be used as the justification for more.”

AMY GOODMAN: And the second time you were arrested?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: The second time was with New Yorkers and tenant activists outside the Rent Guidelines Board after Mayor Adams’ board once again raised rents on more than two-and-a-half million rent-stabilized tenants across New York City.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Mayor Adams has made history as the first sitting New York City mayor to be indicted on federal corruption charge after federal corruption charge. Talk about why you’re running.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You know, I’m running partially because of the fact that we have a mayor under federal charges, charges that he has said he will fight with every ounce of strength and spirit in his body, which begs the question: Where does that leave working-class New Yorkers? And I’m also running because of the fact that he’s been failing those very New Yorkers far before these charges. He is somebody who has run a city that is failing to meet the legal standard of what basic services look like when you’re delivering them to the very people that rely on that city to survive.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And given the fact that there is such a large number of people who have already indicated they’re going to run or are likely to run, including the former comptroller, Scott Stringer; the present comptroller, Brad Lander; Jessica Ramos; and even Andrew Cuomo, the former governor; why do you feel that you have a clear shot to be able to win?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You know, I think that a number of members of the political class think that the most pressing issue that is facing New Yorkers right now is the corruption that has engulfed City Hall or an issue of competence with this mayor. And I think while those are important, the true crisis that most New Yorkers think about on a day-to-day basis is cost of living.

And this is a campaign where we are not only going to focus on that crisis relentlessly, but we are beginning it by putting forward three bold proposals that will immediately take action on that very issue. We are going to freeze the rent for every single rent-stabilized tenant for every single year of the mayoralty. We are going to make buses free and fast across this entire city. And we are going to enact universal child care at no cost for all New Yorkers for children from the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years. These are the policies that will set us apart, and these are the policies that resonate with New Yorkers’ concerns.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And how do you expect to be dealing with the housing crisis in general, because it’s not just the rent-stabilized units, but it’s all the housing in New York that is so expensive for the average person?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You know, I think there are number of tools that the mayor has to confront the housing crisis. To the first point, we have a city of 8.3 million people. Close to two-and-a-half of them live in rent-stabilized units, which are supposed to be the bedrocks of economic stability. The mayor has raised the rent by rates that we haven’t seen since a Republican ran City Hall.

And to your point, for New Yorkers who do not live in those units, what they’ve found, as well, is that the city is not picking up its tools. The city is not ending brokers’ fees. The city is trying to veto an expansion of voucher programs, as opposed to leaning into that expansion. And furthermore, there are opportunities for the city to be building 100% affordable housing on 100% publicly owned land. These are some of the clear opportunities we have that I will take as the next mayor of New York City.

AMY GOODMAN: And what does it mean to be running as a Democratic Socialist?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You know, I think it means that I am putting myself forward not simply as an individual, but rather as someone who belongs to a larger tradition, a tradition that says these issues right now are ones that have to be understood at a systemic level. And if we want to provide New Yorkers with the dignity that is required, we need to start making sure that everything they need to live that kind of a life is guaranteed to them, is not something that they can instead be priced out of, as we’re seeing today with rent, with child care, with public transit.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And if you could talk some more about your stance on the war in Gaza, which clearly — or, in the Palestinian territories, which clearly is not normally a plank of a candidate for mayor in New York City, but certainly will affect how people vote?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You know, I think there’s tremendous anger and alienation across New York City today, whether it’s theses corruption crises or the cost of living or the fact that our tax dollars are continuing to fund a genocide across Palestine. And what voters are looking for is someone who can speak clearly to that crisis of confidence and of faith in the power of government to be a positive force in people’s lives, and to offer them a vision that is worth believing in.

And that is what I am going to do in this campaign, is to put forward an economic agenda that puts working-class New Yorkers first, all while recognizing the world as it actually is, which is one where there is a hierarchy of human life that the United States government is following that states it is fine for Palestinians and Lebanese and Syrians and Yemenis to be killed, because that is simply the worth that they have in the eyes of our federal government.

AMY GOODMAN: So, you’re an activist. You get arrested. You go on hunger strike with the taxi drivers in '21, on hunger strike around Gaza in Washington, D.C., a five-day hunger strike. You get arrested. But you're also in the Legislature currently, New York, and you introduced Not on Our Dime!: Ending New York Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act. Where has that gone? And what specifically does that say New York state should do?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: So, what that legislation says is that it should be illegal for New York state nonprofits to fund Israeli war crimes. And if you ask any New Yorker, it is quite commonsense to say that charities should not be funding the violation of international human rights. But what we found in New York City and across this country is, when you dare to apply universal standards to Israel, you are left as a caricature, as opposed to someone standing up for the broad application of universal rights. That is a piece of legislation that I introduced in May of 2023. It is one that has started to increase the number of co-sponsors we’ve seen in both chambers, and also recently received the support from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And also, we’ve only got about 30 seconds left, but you’ve promised also to eliminate all bus fares on city buses if you’re elected. How would you pay for that?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: So, that is something that I would use current city revenue towards, as well as use the bully pulpit, the second largest in America, to continue to advocate for what I’ve been calling for since I got to Albany, which is raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and the wealthiest corporations that do business in New York. What we’ve seen in the free bus pilot that we won in Albany just two years ago is that when you make buses free, ridership increases by 30%, assaults on bus operators drop by nearly 40%, and you get people out of cars and onto public transit. It’s time we bring that reality to every New Yorker across New York City.

AMY GOODMAN: Zohran Mamdani, Democratic Socialist New York State Assemblymember, is today launching his campaign for New York City mayor.

And that does it for our broadcast. Democracy Now! is currently accepting applications for our video news production and digital fellowship programs. You can learn more and apply at democracynow.org. And we’ll be doing an election night four-hour special. Check it out on our website. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.