My name is

Zohran Kwame Mamdani

I'm a housing counselor, an Indian-Ugandan New Yorker, and the Democratic Nominee for the 36th Assembly District. Our housing is unaffordable and our bills are unpayable. The reason is that big landlords and corporations have too much power, and tenants and workers don't have enough. I want to help our neighbors take their power back.

I worked with the Zohran campaign designing the logo and several mailers. I was enthusiastic about the campaign as a socialist and South Asian Astorian. I believe having socialists in office can complement and amplify the struggles in our streets, workplaces, and buildings.

Although I had heard about Zohran’s campaign a while ago, I didn’t get involved until COVID hit and I was looking for more ways to support folks in my neighborhood. When I volunteered with the Ramadan/Iftar program and witnessed the campaign’s commitment to mutual aid, I felt inspired to get more involved in outreaching specifically to Muslim folks in the neighborhood. I’m grateful for the many incredible people I met through this campaign, and look forward to continuing to building power amongst Astoria residents fighting for social justice.

I worked with Zohran and other volunteers to provide hundreds of free meals and groceries every week because the government and private sector were not adequately meeting the food needs of our community. But a mutual aid program can’t fix food insecurity, let alone an eviction crisis, health insurance tied to employment, or the climate crisis; all of those require changing our government, and that starts with your local representatives. I’m so excited and proud that with Zohran as my assemblyperson, my beliefs are finally being represented by my representative.

I first met the force that is Zohran when he was delivering a rousing speech about the evil incarceration apparatus in Queens and a pep talk on how to canvass for the upcoming DA race. He spoke about about how we get out of our comfort zones, talk to our community about these injustices, and build a just future. When he told me he was running for assembly and looking for someone to make him a website, I was ready to throw down. We built a website and throughout the campaign changed it to ensure our messaging was focused, pointed, and made socialist ideas and policies accessible to all of our neighbors. Now that we've won, I'm continuing to plant the seeds of a brighter future with Queens DSA.

I got involved in the campaign when I started a pop-up food pantry in Astoria in response to COVID-19 job and income loss. Zohran reached out and generously offered me the campaign space so that I could expand beyond the back of my car. Honestly, the act of generosity of offering a space to someone he didn’t know was huge. The humanity of candidates often gets lost in the rigorous nature of a campaign, and it was clear that Zohran’s desire to do good was what drew him to public service, instead of any desire of title. Basically, he walks the walk.

We were drawn to this campaign because of the policies, but also because we were excited by a South Asian American candidate who represented the values and policies we stand for (and because of Zohran's kurtha game #fashion). We did button making, petitioning, flyering, chalking, writing postcards, phone banking... we dabbled with ways to help, but through all of it we were able to connect with Astoria on a deeper level. We are proud to donate time and money to a campaign that set up a precedent for campaigns helping people, not just the candidate.